The Family Scott
by caseycoop
Summary: When one of the most public and influential families in America is on the brink of losing their entire world, the only thing that can save them is an innocent girl from the south who wants nothing do to do with the family or her fiance. BRUCAS. COMPLETE.
1. Crash Course In Polite Conversations

**A/N: Okay, a new story. This story is very different to ones I have written before so I hope it turns out how I want it to. Of course, this story is Brucas. I know that they're unlikely on the show now but I find it easy to write them, and no matter what I still love them – that and I seriously can not stand Leyton.  
The story is AU and most of the characters (in the beginning) are OOC. I know there are people out there who don't like stories like that but please give this story a chance.**

**~ Casey xXx**

**Disclaimer: One Tree Hill does not belong to me; it will never belong to me. The only character that **_**slightly **_**belongs to me is Lily Scott.**

"**The Family Scott"**

In a risky move, the nice china plates had been set for dinner, even though the last thing on the dysfunctional family's mind tonight was eating. The delicious aroma wafting out of the kitchen where the last of the dinner was being prepared made its way through to the dining room where most of the family had assembled for this latest attempt at a family dinner and civility.  
"You seriously believe that?" The family's oldest son. "Maybe you are thicker than you look."  
"Don't even think about speaking to me like that!"  
As the angry voices of family patriarch Dan Scott and his oldest child Nathan Scott quietened down, the room was left in complete silence and the tension could be felt by those present. Nathan's one year old son Jamie Scott must have detected on this because at once he started wailing and attentions were diverted as his mama Haley Scott attempted to quieten him down.  
As Jamie's wails turned to whimpers the housekeeper, Janice, brought out the dinner and even after it was served no one even dared to glance at the food.  
Dan opened his mouth, presumably to start another argument but his dark haired son beat him to it. The chair he had been sitting on hit the floor with a crash.  
"I'm leaving." He declared his voice quiet and deadly calm but the malice could still be heard. The front door had slammed shut before his departure was fully realised and a second later his wife and son had quietly slunk away after him.

A sigh could be heard from the opposite side of the table. Dan looked up sharply to find the noise had come from his youngest child, sixteen year old Lily Isabella; without looking at her father she faced her mum and pushed away from the table.  
"May I be excused?" She asked quietly; she hated involving herself in these verbal, and occasionally physical, slinging matches. She had barely even seen her mother's slight nod before disappearing; meals where everybody left before anybody ate were a common occurrence in the Scott Household.  
The table once again fell into an uncomfortable and tense silence. Dan, his wife Karen and their second son Lucas were still sitting in their chairs. The other member of the family, Lucas's twin sister Peyton hadn't even bothered to make a brief appearance for this event.  
"Great going dad." Luke snorted pushing back from the table. "You just had to ruin another dinner." And then like his brother and sister-in-law he disappeared out of the front door, presumably to go find his twin and get just as drunk.

The Scott family was undoubtedly one of the most influential families in the United States of America. Dan Scott, not only headed his family but also the corporate giant Scott Enterprises which was involved in everything, raging from car dealerships, _Scott Motors, _scattered across the country to the Finance Market on Wall Street in New York City. His business partner and also his wife of almost two and a half decades was Karen Roe Scott; her job was to manage the publicity that the company generated as well as keeping the Scott name clean in the media; which considering her children was a difficult task. Her oldest child was twenty three year old Nathaniel "Nathan" Scott. He wasn't generally a problem; he had married his high school girlfriend Haley when he was seventeen to carve a life away from his father, but there was those nights out that any twenty something year old millionaire heir was bound to have, and those infamous father/son arguments that ended in the police station half of the time.  
After Nathan were her twenty one year old twins Lucas Eugene and Peyton Elizabeth Scott, who always managed to give her splitting headaches. At least once a fortnight Peyton appeared on the front cover of something national tabloid magazine as she stumbled out some random nightclub drunk at four in the morning hanging off the arm of some equally troubled big name actor or musician. Her last major damage control was caused by her son Luke who had overnight become a best selling author with his novel when there were speculations and gossip about how much was fictional and how much had been inspired from his own family.

Her only relief came in the form of sixteen year old Lily. Lily had enough sense to keep herself out of trouble, but Karen knew the girl was battling with some family secrets that she had successfully kept out away from the media.

Dan, who had actually started to eat his own dinner, looked up to find Karen staring at him in disbelief.  
"What?" He snapped his mouth full of food.  
Karen shook her head without uttering a single word; she loved all her children dearly but if her husband continued on his warpath she was going to lose them all. In a single gulp she completely drained her previously untouched wined glass and followed suit of her children leaving Dan by himself to enjoy his meal.

**I love getting reviews, so don't forget to tell me what you think of the story. I love writing, and I need to know what other people think about it**

**~ Casey xXx**


	2. Suddenly Everything Has Changed

Karen was staring at the newspaper that was lying on her desk in front of her; her mind already in overdrive trying to work out how she was going to smooth over this problem. Now she realised what her daughter had been doing while the latest catastrophic dinner had been taking place. She had been getting drunk with some new musician and stumbling out of the newest nightclub in New York at three in the morning.  
Her cell phone rung and as she checked the number flashing she took a deep breath. This was what she had been dreading ever since the paper landed on her desk that morning.  
"Hello." She answered the phone carefully.  
"Have you seen the paper?" Dan was shouting and Karen moved the phone away from her ear until he calmed down.  
"Yes Dan, I'm looking at it now."  
"What are we going to do? I can't make a deal if everyone thinks this family is a liability." His voice was harsh.  
"I will fix it Dan." Karen promised. She didn't know how she was going to do it at this point but she'd work it out somehow. Dan slammed the phone down in response and left Karen wondering how she would work her way out of this one.

Dan was leaning back in his chair trying to calm himself down. He had a conference call with Bryon Publications in five minutes to secure a deal and the deal wouldn't go ahead if he wasn't able to calm himself down.  
"I don't know Dan…" Twenty minutes later and Dan was trying to convince Richard Bryon that his daughter wouldn't be a problem. "It seems like a big risk."  
"That problem is being fixed at this very moment Richard. Peyton won't be a problem in this deal."  
"What about the rest of the family?" Richard Bryon didn't know how to deal with something as public as the Scott Family.  
"None of them will be a problem…" It came out almost as a hiss.

In her office Karen had come up with the perfect solution. She was on the phone to the man that could make this happen; that would make this happen.  
"I don't know if she would agree…" The voice drifted through the phone hesitant. Now, Karen wasn't normally a cold or harsh person. She saved that for her husband but right now she was ice.  
"Make her see reason. Your job depends on it." As she hung up the phone she felt slightly sick. She had never solved a family problem with threatening an employee's job; especially an employee that played an important role in the business and in the family, but at this point she had no choice.

.:.:.:.:.

Edward Davis entered his North Carolina home and was greeted by the smell of dinner. As he sat down with his wife and two daughters he felt at ease. He loved coming home to this family every night. He and his wife Victoria had raised their two children on the idea that meant every thing. He felt ill when he thought about what he was going to have to do after dinner.  
His wife kept shooting him secret looks throughout the entire dinner conversation. She knew what Edward was going through because he had called her that afternoon. She had violently protested the idea but he still had no choice.  
Once the dishes were done he found his oldest daughter, nineteen year old Brooke in her room.  
"Brooke, sweetheart." He knocked on her door. "Can I talk to you?"  
"Of course Dad." She smiled and put down the book she was reading. "What about?"  
Edward faltered before he even started. "Let's going into the living room. Your mother needs to be there as well."  
Brooke looked at her father suspiciously but followed him. Surely it couldn't be that bad.

"What do you think about the Scott family?" He asked once they were in the living room. Victoria had grasped one of Brooke's arms and they were starting to worry the teenager. She raised one eyebrow. Her father was the Scott's lawyer. She knew a lot about the Scott family and everything she knew was negative.  
"I think they're all trouble." Brooke replied honestly. She had seen the papers that morning. In her opinion Peyton was the worst. "Why?" She looked between her parents.  
"Well…Aah…" Edward was having trouble doing this to his daughter.  
"Your father's job relies on this honey." Victoria butted in before Brooke knew what was going on.  
"What is going on dad?" Brooke looked straight into his eyes. "Why does my opinion of the Scott family determine what happens in your job."  
"We need you to marry Lucas Scott."  
Brooke stared at them both for a second before laughing. When her parents didn't laugh she started to panic.  
"Please tell me you're joking." She begged. "Please."  
Edward shook his head. "Brooke, honey, I'm really sorry…"  
"What if I say no?" Brooke asked. "What happens to your job then?"  
"I lose it and it's possible the Scott family loses everything they own." He explained. Brooke thought about it for a second.  
"Saying no is not an option." Victoria Davis had always been so loving and caring towards her daughters but her tone at that point was as harsh as Karen had been when talking to Edward that morning.

As she reluctantly nodded, Brooke felt like throwing up.

.:.:.:.:.

In the Scott's New York mansion, Luke wasn't taking the news much better.  
"You have to be kidding." He roared. Karen and Dan had cornered him after Edward had called saying that Brooke would do it.  
"No." Dan stood up and gained a lot of height on his son. It didn't stop Luke though.  
"You will marry this girl. You will not ruin the family name."  
"The name was ruined a long time ago." He pointed out.  
"Please Luke." Karen smiled slightly looking at her son. "She is a sweet girl who doesn't want to do this either. This is the best for the company. Without this everything is lost, we will have nothing."  
There was a tone in Karen's voice that made Luke speak. He may hate his father but he still respected his mother.

Like Brooke, Luke found himself reluctantly agreeing to this marriage.

**A/N: A longer chapter!! Thank you to those who reviewed and ChadAndSophie (anon), you were dead on about how the characters will play out with the OOC thing… Keep on reviewing :)**

**-- Casey xx **


	3. The Worst Day Since Yesterday

Brooke was standing in her front garden; the small suitcase packed for the weekend, at her feet. She was still arguing against this decision that she was marrying Lucas Scott. Her father was driving her up to New York for the weekend to meet him.  
"Please." She begged her mother. "Please, don't make me do this."  
Victoria had to distance herself emotionally form her daughter in order to do this which was something Brooke had never experienced before. She couldn't understand why her mother was being so cold.  
"This is what's best for the family Brooke." She used the F word so Brooke was torn. She had always done what was best for her family; and now she couldn't stop. Brooke glared at her mother one more time before turning to her ten year old sister Katie.  
"Behave while I'm gone." She said hugging her. With the nine year difference between them Brooke had always been extra protective of Katie and the thought of leaving her for good depressed her.

Once she and her father were in the car and on the road Brooke slipped on her headphones. She had always been the polite girl; the nice girl; the quiet girl but now she was going to be the moody, difficult girl. Her father glanced at her when she started browsing through her I-Pod but left it. He didn't want to get into another argument with his daughter now over this.

.:.:.:.:.

Karen had spent the entire morning making sure the house was clean. Dan and Luke had spent that time lurking around the house. Luke didn't understand why his mother was going to so much trouble for a girl that had no choice in what was happening. Dan just kept lecturing Luke on behaving in front of this girl.

"Shut up both of you." Karen turned on them after making a final inspection of the house. "Lucas, you are going to behave in front of this girl." She warned him. In response he gave one of his infamous smiles which were constantly shown in tabloid magazines. The smile showed that he was hot-stuff…and he knew it.  
She looked at Dan for a minute as if to warn him about something but decided it was best if she left and disappeared again. Dan turned to face his son then and before following after Karen hissed one threat to him.  
"Don't fuck this up…"

.:.:.:.:.

Edward had made it past the security that greeted them at the entrance of the long driveway leading up to the Scott mansion and now he and Brooke were sitting in the car talking quietly.  
"Why am I doing this?" Brooke asked. By this point it wasn't an actual question, just her speaking out loud. "Why me?"  
"They know you can do the job." He squeezed her hand gently. "Your mother and I are so sorry…"  
"Don't tell me you're sorry." She cut in as she climbed out the car.

As Karen Roe Scott showed Brooke into the house she had to admit that she was slightly impressed; that felt with the intimidation was making her feel extremely sick. Walking into the grand living room she was met by a familiar blonde head of hair. Looking at Lucas Scott in person Brooke hated him on sight and knew one thing for certain. This was going to be torturous for her; and she was going to make it as torturous as possible for him.  
"Lucas Scott." He introduced himself with his trademark smile. Brooke noticed that his eyes glistened but quickly erased that from her memory as she remembered the slightly repulsive smile.  
"Brooke Davis." She met his gaze right on and looking into his eyes she saw something she couldn't fully describe.

.:.:.:.:.

Luke didn't expect the girl to be so hot. As she stood in his living room he had a sudden urge to just grab her and take her up to his room; he quickly shook that thought out of his head though.

Neither of them said anything after that so Karen but in again.  
"Brooke honey; let me show you around the house." Brooke gave Karen the sweetest smile she could muster before letting her show her around the house.

Ten minutes later as Karen showed Brooke out of another room in the house Brooke collided with another girl who was running up the stairs. She went tumbling back and hit the wall, thankfully missing anything valuable. Brooke looked up and found herself facing the mass of blonde curls that was Peyton Scott.  
Bloodshot eyes were glaring at Brooke from beneath thick mascara.  
"Who are you?" The words were slightly slurred together. There was no denying it she was hung-over and just arriving home now.  
"Brooke Davis." Brooke offered a small smile. This was the reason Brooke hated the whole Scott family.  
"Why are you in the house?" Peyton was having difficulty getting words out. "Are you a reporter?"  
"She's Luke's fiancée." Karen butted in. As Karen said this there was a loud crash as the door just to Brooke's right swung open.  
"Luke's what?" The girl's voice was loud. As Brooke turned to face the newcomer she was a little surprised. Her auburn curls were a stark contrast to Peyton's blonde ones, and she lacked something that Peyton and Lucas had, something that made her so kind and sincere.  
"This is my daughter Lily." Karen introduced her. "Lily, this is Brooke. _Luke's fiancée."  
_Lily looked Brooke up and down. "She looks to kind to be Luke's anything."  
Brooke stifled back a laugh as Lily disappeared into her room again.

.:.:.:.:.

Later that afternoon; after her father had left her alone at the Scott mansion, Brooke was sitting on one of the huge couches facing Nathan and Haley Scott. Out of the whole family these two were the ones she felt the least intimidated by. Jamie, their ten month old son was playing on the floor between them.

What Nathan said next summed up all of Brooke's feelings.  
"Welcome to hell."

**A/N: Okay, this chapter was more difficult than I thought it would be; probably because everyone is meeting for the first time. So I'm not sure how the chapter turned out.  
Keep reviewing to keep me updating quickly :)**


	4. The First Cut Is The Deepest

Brooke's first Scott Family dinner that night had been pure torture. Meeting Dan for the first time; she was certain she never wanted to talk to him again, and the only thought that Brooke could come up with for Peyton was _if looks could kill. _Brooke sat next to Haley the entire time and felt safe in knowing that there was someone she could rely on in this mess.

Miraculously they made it through dinner without any arguments and after Nathan and Haley left Brooke escaped to her room. She had been lying on her bed listening to music when she heard a faint knock at her door.  
"Who is it?" She was a bit wary about letting anyone into this one bit of the house that was her safe place.  
"It's Lily. Can I please come in?"  
"Yea, sure." Brooke didn't have a real problem with the youngest Scott. Lily closed the door behind her and jumped onto the bed.  
"My mum told me…" Lily started off with a small smile.  
"It's okay Lily."  
"It's just you look so kind, nothing like Luke. I was a bit surprised when…" She trailed off.  
"You look too kind to be a Scott." Brooke smiled, trying to make the girl a bit comfortable.  
"I know right." Lily laughed. "Sometimes I think…" She suddenly clammed up. Brooke went to ask more but the look in Lily's eyes stopped her. If it was hard for her to talk about she didn't want to push it.

There was another knock on the door.  
"It's Karen." The voice on the other side said as she slowly opened the door and peeked in. Brooke motioned for her to come in.  
She looked apologetic as she started to speak. "Tomorrow, you have a date with Lucas."  
Brooke offered what was meant to be a small smile; but instead turned out to be more of a grimace.

.:.:.:.:.

"You have a date with this Brooke girl tomorrow." Dan said to Lucas over the newspaper he was reading.  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Glad you felt the need to tell me." He smirked.  
"Don't get smart with me boy. I have a deal up in the air because of you and your sister fucking things up. You're going to fix this."  
He thought of the raven haired girl upstairs. He was thinking he could do more damage than good to the family name at the moment but kept that thought to himself.  
"Where do you want me to take her?" He felt like sulking.  
"Anywhere you think the paparazzi would see you." Dan felt triumphant that Luke had given in so easily.

.:.:.:.:.

Brooke spent the whole morning agonizing over what was going to happen that afternoon on her "date". She had looked through her small selection of clothes and finally settled on her favourite pair of jeans and her red top. She brushed her hair back into a simple ponytail and put minimum make up on. She wasn't going to go over the top for Lucas Scott.

When she walked down the stairs into the living room at midday she found him lounging on the couch reading a magazine. She wasn't surprised when she saw that he was on the front cover.  
"Ready to go?" He looked up and threw the magazine to one side. She nodded grudgingly and let him lead her out the house.  
His car was nice, there was no denying that and as she climbed into the passenger's seat she noticed that the thing was spotless. He took a lot of pride in the car.  
As he gunned the engine and reversed out quickly, she subtly checked to make sure that her seat belt was clipped in securely.

The Scott's lived just outside of the main city, so they made the short drive in and then climbed out of Central Park. Brooke had gone to open her door when Luke stopped her.  
"Wait in here a second." He slammed the door shut and Brooke slunk down in her seat.  
If Lucas Scott thought she could control her and order her around…  
Suddenly her passenger door was swung open and Luke was helping her out the car. She was a bit suspicious as he helped her onto the footpath.  
"Paparazzi." He said between clenched teeth. It was all for the cameras; she smiled. It made sense.

They spent the afternoon walking around New York. She had only been to the city once before in her life, so everything seemed so big to her. Something that Luke found extremely amusing.  
At the end of the afternoon, they found themselves back at the car. Before she climbed into the car though Luke leaned in and kissed her; not so gently. As he stepped back she climbed into the car, throwing one more glare towards him as he closed the door. She didn't car if the paparazzi were watching or not, he didn't need to do that. Waiting for Luke to climb into the driver's side, she touched her lips for a second. Her lips were stinging where Luke kissed her and she didn't want to admit to herself, or him, or anyone else, that she sort of liked it. She was scared as well, because she had been kissed before like that and that hadn't ended well for her.

When they arrived back at the house she found out to her despair that her mother had prolonged her trip by a couple of days.  
"What!?" Brooke hadn't been happy when she found out and poor Karen copped the end of it.  
"Your parents feel that it would be better if you spent a couple more days here. Get you used to being here, and to let your sister adjust to being by herself."  
Brooke wasn't happy and didn't speak for the rest of the evening. She made it through that night's dinner without speaking, which wasn't hard considering that Dan had lectured Peyton the whole time and then she disappeared to her room. This time Lily didn't come in to talk to her. Everyone could see that Brooke wanted to be left by herself.

.:.:.:.:.

The next morning when Brooke woke up she was greeted with the day's newspaper. The front cover made Brooke fume.

_**The Girl That Tamed Lucas Scott  
**__Yesterday, New Yorkers were treated to a sight never seen before in the city. Lucas Scott not going crazy and enjoying a peaceful day out with his new girlfriend.  
The girl? Sources say that this girl is nineteen year old Brooke Davis from North Carolina; a far cry from Scott's previous girlfriends which have included model/stripper Holly Jane.  
Has this girl managed to tame the notorious party boy, or will she be his next victim? _

The article was along side the photo of them kissing by the car and one of them walking down the street. One thing was for sure though. Karen and Dan were going to love this; they were getting the positive publicity they had been waiting for.

**Read and Review :)**


	5. First Day On A Brand New Planet

**Okay so after re-reading the last chapter; after publishing it I've noticed that it does seem a bit rushed, especially in the dialogue and scenes which ChadAndSophia pointed out to me. I will fix it later down the track, but for now I'm sorry…and remember to keep reviewing.  
-- Casey xx**

Back in the comfort of her bedroom in North Carolina, Brooke felt safe and truly happy. Even though she knew her days in these rooms were now numbered she relished in the fact that she still had her "haven", a place that had been hers since birth.

"Brooke?" Brooke had been sitting on her bed looking through her old photo albums when Katie stuck her head through her doorway. "Can I come in?"  
Brooke smiled and nodded vigorously, "Of course you can Katie."  
Katie run through the door and jumped up on to the bed, facing Brooke. "I'm glad you're back." Brooke had been gone for the entire week; that had upset both Katie _and _Brooke as both of them had been under the impression that she would only be in the city for the weekend.  
"Katie…" Brooke wanted to make sure that her sister knew that she would be gone again soon, more permanently this time.  
"I know, I know." Katie cut in. "You'll be in the city for good soon; but you're here now." Brooke nodded again. "I am aren't I?" She jumped off the bed and grabbed Katie as she did so. "Let's go out. Have some fun." She'd be restricted soon enough.  
As she walked around the town with her sister, Brooke came to realise that this might be one of the last chances she got to do this; to just relax and enjoy the day. She didn't know when everything would change and that frightened her. Growing up, nearly everything had remained constant. She had her friends, and her family and that didn't change.

It wasn't until the sun started to set that Brooke realised how late it had gotten. She and Katie were sitting in the park, eating chocolate ice cream cones.  
"Katie." She jumped to her feet as she finished her cone off. "We've got to get home." Katie however was a little more reluctant. Before Brooke had gone to New York City they had been as close as a family, and now… now everything was just so strained in the house. Katie didn't like it.

.:.:.:.:.

3 months later Brooke was helping her mother prepare dinner when the phone rang. Her mother spoke quietly into the phone, nodding even though she knew the caller couldn't see her, and occasionally secretly glancing at her daughter. When she hung up the phone and turned to talk to Brooke, Victoria noticed that Brooke had disappeared. The knife she had been using still on the chopping board.

She found her oldest daughter up in her bedroom already, her largest suitcase open on the bed; her drawers and wardrobe open already. Tears threatening to stream down her face. Victoria knew that Brooke knew who was on the phone and what it had been about. Brooke had been to New York several times since the first time and she had grown a tight bond between Nathan, Haley and Lily; but she still felt resentment towards Lucas; she still thought he was a cocky and arrogant bastard. That didn't matter though because she still wasn't ready to leave her house; and the familiarity that came with it.

"I'm so…" Victoria sat carefully on the edge of the bed; wanting to reach out to her daughter. She missed how close they used to be, but for the last three months they had a strained relationship neither one not knowing what to say or do.  
"Don't tell me you're sorry." Brooke said quietly as she threw a couple of her favourite tops into the suitcase. "Sorry isn't going to cut this."  
"You have to …" Victoria tried to start again but Brooke wasn't letting her. She managed to get her suitcase closed before pulling out a second one and opening that up.  
"Don't try to get me to understand." Brooke felt like snapping at her mother but tried to control herself. "I understand completely." The bitter tone detected by her mother. Victoria didn't say anything more but rather just watched her daughter throw one thing after another into her suitcases; dinner completely forgotten on the kitchen counter downstairs.

When she finished packing she threw everything into her blue Volkswagen beetle. Katie was sitting on the fence watching her but her parents were inside, watching from the door. Brooke had made it clear that she had said already said all she wanted to say to her parents.  
As she turned around once again to face her sister, Katie latched onto her tightly; tears streaming down her face as well. Brooke didn't realise it would be this hard to say goodbye.  
"This isn't forever." Brooke whispered into her sister's ear. "You'll still see Me."  
"But you won't always be here."  
"No I won't." Brooke didn't like constantly thinking about that. "But I'll still come down to see you; and you can always come up to New York." Katie thought about it for a minute and nodded, pulling away from her sister.  
"Goodbye Katie." Brooke said quietly as she climbed into her car. She watched her sister walk back up the path way before driving away. As she pulled out of the drive way she noticed that her parents had already walked away from the door.

.:.:.:.:.

Brooke had been so angry at everything that she didn't realise that leaving at six thirty in the evening meant she'd be driving all night; her mind had been that clouded that she just didn't think. Now, that she was on the road and driving towards New York City she realised that she'd be there around four in the morning. She sighed and instead of doing anything about it just turned her radio up louder. At that point, she didn't care.

At eleven o'clock that night, driving through Virginia though she did care that she hadn't thought about it. She couldn't stay awake all night on just coffee and she was starting to drift off. Luckily for her though, she drove past a hotel only ten minutes later. As soon as she entered the hotel room and her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.

.:.:.:.:.

Late in the morning Brooke was awake and refreshed, driving through New York City towards the Scott mansion. As her father had always driven her into the city before she was having difficulty finding the place, and despite her reservations about the whole situation was delighted when she recognised the wall that hid the place. She had always thought the security was a little intense and over the top and as she drove up to the gate started to worry about how she'd get through. She had had a shower at the hotel but she had still left feeling dirty; she wanted the luxury bathroom. She didn't have to worry though because the second her window was wind down the guard recognised who she was.  
"Good morning Ms. Davis." He smiled slightly as the electronic gate opened.

"Brooke." Karen's voice made her jump as she stood in the foyer after the housekeeper had let her in. "You made it."  
Brooke smiled, she did like Karen. She wasn't as bad as her husband.  
"Your parents called us after you left last night, so truthfully we were all expecting you a bit earlier."  
"I was tired." Brooke didn't know she had to explain her night's activities. "I stopped off at…"  
"No need to worry about that. It's just I have to run to work. Lily's at school and Peyton's god knows where." Brooke noticed for the first time that Karen spoke quite quickly when she was in business mode. "Lucas did go out this morning, but he should be back soon." She smiled slyly and Brooke ignored the obvious connotations that came with it.

As soon as the door slammed behind Karen, Brooke headed upstairs to find where the housekeeper had taken her suitcases to. She walked into the guest room that had been hers for her previous visits but found the room empty. That was obviously no longer hers. As she walked out of the room though a growing feeling of dread settled in the bottom of her stomach.  
As she walked into Luke's room on the third floor, that feeling of dread was confirmed. The housekeeper was already putting away her clothes into Lucas's wardrobe.  
"I can do that." Brooke tried to control her voice. She didn't want to get mad at the housekeeper for only doing her job.  
"No need for that Ms. Davis. It's no problem. I'm sure you must want to have a shower after your long drive." She pointed to the adjoining bathroom. As Brooke walked through to the room, she realised this was exactly what she wanted and in minutes had the whole room steamed up as she stood under the running shower.

When Luke arrived home to find the house empty he was relieved. He could hear Janice; their housekeeper, working in the kitchen so could escape to his bedroom without anyone noticing the brand new black eye he was supporting.

Walking into his room though the last thing he expected to hear was his shower running.  
"Who's there?" He had his suspicions.  
"Oh shit." The surprised tone in her voice made him snigger.

**And…as always keep reviewing :)**


	6. We Might As Well Be Strangers

As Luke sat on his bed trying to control his laughter Brooke was in the bathroom trying to make herself decent.  
"It's not that funny." Brooke snapped swinging open the door facing Luke. She was shocked to see his bruised eye.  
"What are you doing in my room anyway?" He propped himself up on his bed.  
"Your housekeeper moved me in." She shrugged it off; she would deal with that particular problem later. "What happened to your eye?"  
Luke mirrored Brooke's shrug. "It's nothing forget it."  
Brooke folded her arms in protest. It was obvious that they both detested this situation, but it was still going ahead. That didn't mean that she would conform to a wife that never asked any questions and did what she was told; which Luke apparently wanted her to do.  
"What happened?" She asked again, this time with more force. She didn't move from her spot by the bathroom door.  
After glaring at each other for a couple of seconds, Luke caved in and sighed. "I got into a fight." When he saw Brooke's expression of slight concern he smirked, "Don't worry. You should see the other guy." Brooke felt like screaming. He did this a lot, she found quickly. He would say something and then turn around and be a complete bastard about it.

As Brooke was standing there glaring at Luke, she noticed for the first time how small his room seemed. Well, she knew it was technically a large room but both of them in there at the same time made it seem small; almost claustrophobic.  
"Let's get back to the other problem." Luke smirked again.  
Brooke had lost her train of thought. "What other problem?"  
"This is _my _room." He spread his arms. "Mine."  
"God, you sound like a child." She took a couple of steps towards the bed. "This is room is now mine as well." She gave her own impressive smirk.  
He didn't like that idea.  
"I never said you could." He would protest this. His room was _his _room.  
"Your mother told your housekeeper." She knew exactly how to torture him; she slowly turned examining the room. "If I have to live in here though some changes have to be made." She turned to face Luke and gave him an innocent smile. She slowly began walking to certain things, like a poster of a barely dressed model. In one swift movement the poster was off the wall, torn into two and thrown in the bin.  
"Hey." He jumped up off the bed. "You can't do that."  
"Watch me." Brooke tore down another poster. Luke grabbed her wrists, physically restraining her from doing it again. His blue eyes pierced her green ones; as he spoke it was slowly and forcefully.  
"Don't. Do. That." The message was clear and concise. Brooke wouldn't give in that easily though. She looked around the black walls.  
"This black is depressing. I'll need to paint it. Mauve is a nice colour. Don't you think?" The grip around her wrists tightened. He was strong; she'd give him that but she knew that he would never hurt her. Not when so much was riding on their "relationship."

She flipped her long hair back as she stopped considering the renovation of the room.  
"Let go of my wrists before you leave a mark." She lowered her voice.  
Realising what he was doing, he dropped his grip. Her wrists stung a little, but the good thing was that they wouldn't leave a mark.  
"Don't do that again." She walked away from Luke and sat down on the bed.  
"Don't push me then." Luke spoke through gritted teeth, but he wasn't serious. He had enough morals, he'd never hurt a female.  
"I'm serious about the room though." She wasn't trying to torture him anymore. "I'm not sleeping in a black room."  
"I'm not sleeping in a purple room." He wasn't stupid. She could use a sophisticated name for the colour but he knew what it was. Brooke gave him a small smile.  
"I'll find another colour then."  
Luke sat down on the bed next to her, letting his guard down for a while.

"This whole situation is pretty fucked up." He spoke quietly.

.:.:.:.:.

"Brooke." Lily squealed when she walked into the house after she got home from school and saw Brooke on the couch. "You made it."  
Brooke laughed when she saw the sixteen year old she became incredible close to.  
She wrapped Lily up into the hug. "Oh, a friendly face."  
Lily laughed. "When did you get here?"  
"Ten. I've been with your brother all day." Peyton made an appearance after lunch but she disappeared into her room fast and had stayed there.  
Lily smiled grimly, sympathising for Brooke. Luke then walked into the room and Lily was distracted by the ugly bruise covering half his face.  
"Jeez Luke. What happened?"  
Luke gave his favourite sister a smile, not answering the question.  
"Apparently the other guy looks worse."  
Brooke felt more comfortable now that Lily was in the house with her.

Now, that the house was slowly coming to life again as everyone was arriving the time sped up. One second Brooke found herself on the couch talking to Lily and the next she was back in Luke's room zipping up her black dress.  
Since arriving home all Dan had been able to do was not so subtly suggest to Luke that he should take Brooke out to dinner. Brooke had been reluctant but tonight Luke was quick to cave into his father. That was how she ended up in the passenger seat of Luke's car as he pulled up to the newest restaurant in town that everybody raved about.

Seated at a table for two in the middle of the restaurant, Brooke came to realise that someone had strategically planned this. The red roses in the middle of the table; the table which everyone could see. As the waiter brought the first course of salad out Brooke realised that she was starting to panic.  
"What's going on Luke?" She asked as he began to shovel the salad into his mouth.  
Luke didn't answer but he gestured her to start eating as well. Brooke hated him telling her what to do and especially hated the fact that he still thought he could get away with it. She was reluctant to start eating but she couldn't glare at him all night and ignore her food. She was hungry.

That was how most of the night continued; eating in silence. Until the dessert came.  
The waiters brought out the cheesecake they had ordered and it sat there on the table untouched. Brooke's eyes were glued to the small jewellery box that Luke had quietly and unceremoniously placed on the table. Her eyes met his for a second and she could see how much this was tearing him apart as well. He was twenty one, he didn't want to get married.  
"Lucas…" Brooke could see how difficult this was. The emotion she had seen in his eyes disappeared. He got down on one knee and the entire restaurant fell to silence.  
"Brooke…" His voice was quiet but the restaurant still hung on to every word. "I never thought I would be the kind to do this but since meeting you everything has changed. I love you and I don't ever want you to leave. Please, will you marry me?" He opened the box and the ring glinted in the restaurant lightning. She couldn't help it, she gasped. It was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. The diamond centred in the middle of a slender gold band was surrounded by a small cluster of diamonds  
Realising that the restaurant was still silent, waiting for the response she nodded slowly and as Luke slipped the ring onto her finger before leaning in to give her a gentle kiss and then suddenly the restaurant was noisy again, full of clapping and cheering.

**A/N: Okay, the description of the engagement ring is a bit dodgy but I couldn't really describe what I was seeing in my head, so imagine what you want ;)  
The wedding will come soon…I promise, so for now just keep reviewing :)  
--Casey xx**


	7. Are You True?

Brooke walked into her bedroom and dumped the shopping bags in the corner. The news of her engagement broke out about a week ago, the morning after the restaurant, and since then she had been on three shopping trips with Karen. Apparently, she needed a new wardrobe. She crossed the room to the window that faced out the back. Lucas was down there by the pool with some of his friends. Peyton, who had managed to stay sober for the last couple of days, was also down there prancing around in a barely there bikini.

Brooke turned away from the window to search through her shopping bags. One of her purchases had been a new bikini and she decided that it was the perfect time to try it out. Looking at herself in the mirror before she left the room, she looked nothing like the girl she used to be. She grabbed her robe from the back of the door before heading downstairs.

"Hey guys." Brooke smiled as she walked outside. Luke's friends; Tim and Skills were sitting on the chairs while Peyton splashed around in the water. Tim was watching Peyton carefully. Brooke thought she saw lust in Tim's eyes.  
"Hey Brooke." Skills smiled politely. They knew nothing of the agreement and Skills wondered constantly why Luke started dating her and even more why Brooke said yes.  
Luke leaned over and kissed Brooke on the cheek. "How was the shopping trip?"  
Brooke smiled cheekily. "Fun."  
She untied her robe and let it slip. "Do you like what I brought?" If she was going to torture him, she was going to have fun doing it.  
Tim's eyes moved away from Peyton. Luke's fiancée had just stripped in front of him and she was hot.  
"What are you doing?" Luke gritted his teeth.  
Brooke flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Going for a swim."  
It was the most innocent smile she could muster.  
"Brooke…"  
She took off running towards the pool and executed the perfect dive.

Tim was having trouble controlling himself, Luke's twin sister and young fiancée, both so unavailable…but both right in front of him. In a matter of seconds he had his shirt off and he was in the pool; he sidled up towards Peyton at first.  
"What are you doing Tim?" She cast him a quick glance and then dived under the water. Admitting defeat, he moved on to Brooke.  
"Heya Brooke." He gave a sweet smile. Brooke knew Tim and she heard what Haley had told her about Tim but this was the first time he ever tried to do something on her. She didn't know how to take it.  
"Hi Tim." She swam backwards a little bit; Tim got closer.  
"Like your bikini." He smiled. Brooke smiled slightly. He was getting a bit close for comfort.

"Tim!" Luke's voice cut through the air. Brooke looked over and saw Luke standing by the side of the pool, debating on whether to jump in or not. "Move away from her."  
There was something in Brooke's eyes that she'd never seen in Luke before. He looked protective. Tim saw it too; it was a foreign look in his eyes as well.  
Brooke swam over to the edge and climbed out of the pool taking Luke's hand as support. He covered her in a towel and pulled her into him, holding her arm.  
"Go back upstairs and change before you come back down." Brooke turned around and walked back into the house with a sly smile forming on her face. She was going to drive him crazy.

.:.:.:.:.

While Brooke walked into the house, Tim climbed back out of the pool. As he set his feet on solid ground though Luke's arms flung out and pushed him back in, splashing water everywhere, over everybody. Peyton laughed, the sight of Tim coming back up sputtering for air was too funny.  
"What was that for?" He whinged.  
"Stay away from Brooke." Luke's voice was slow and controlled, trying not to lose his temper.  
Peyton gave him a weird look. She was the only one aware of the arrangement and suddenly it didn't seem like the arrangement was making him act like that.

.:.:.:.:.

Brooke was out by the pool again with five minutes, wearing more of her very recent purchases. The dark blue jeans were tight and fit her legs perfectly. The black tank top showed exactly all the right curves off. It wasn't what she normally wore and it wasn't something she felt comfortable wearing. Her engagement ring on her left finger was glistening in the sun and it was what made her feel uncomfortable. Peyton was sitting next to her, wrapped in a towel, as they watched Luke and Skills play a game of one on one basketball. Tim had gone home dripping wet after he had come out of the pool.  
"What are you doing?" Peyton's voice was quiet and directed at Brooke which was something she wasn't used to.  
"Excuse me?"  
"You're feeling uncomfortable in what you're wearing. You don't like being that exposed; but you're still wearing it. Why?" She spoke quietly, as if she was thinking out loud.  
Brooke smiled another innocent smile. She felt as if that smile was plastered on her face permanently lately.  
"I'm not doing anything." Neither one of them took their eyes off the game.  
"Bullshit. You're up to something." Peyton's voice was a sneer. As Luke shot the winning goal Brooke stood up.  
"Great game." She smiled. "I'm going to go inside for something to eat, are you boys right?"  
Luke and Skills answered in unison they were fine as they started to gear up for another game and then Brooke walked off, already thinking about the large jumper she wanted to slip on.

Brooke was lying on the bed reading a book, the sandwich Janice prepared for lying half-eaten beside her. She glanced up from the book, a sudden movement grabbing her attention. Luke was standing at the end of the bed, watching her.  
"You're staring at me." She looked back down at her book. Ignoring him as much as she could was the best option. He sat down next to her on the bed. She sighed and closed the book turning to face him.  
He was staring at her; she tried to identify the looks that were in his eyes, but before she could get anywhere he was on top of her kissing her.  
She tried to push him off but he was so much stronger than her it was impossible. As he moved from her lips to her neck she gave in and started kissing him back. She was surprised when she found herself enjoying it but at the same time Luke rolled back off her.  
"What was that?" Brooke sat up glaring at him.  
Luke didn't move for a second but then it was like something had stung him and within seconds he was out of the room. Brooke felt like screaming. This was the first time he had kissed her in private and the first time he had ever kissed her like that. What the hell was he doing?

**Okay, so it may look like a filler chapter but I promise you it's not. Keep reviewing and I'll keep up with the quick updates :)**


	8. Between Order and Randomness

_Another night; another family dinner in the Scott household. _This is what Brooke thought as she sat in her normal spot between Haley and Lily for dinner. She looked up for a second and noticed an empty seat directly opposite her. She looked around and saw Karen, Nathan, Lucas and Peyton. Dan's seat at the head of the table was empty too.  
"What's going on?" She whispered to Lily who shrugged in confusion.  
"Ma, what's going on?" Lucas spoke up finally. "Everyone's hungry. If Dan can't be bothered arriving on time, too bad. We shouldn't all starve." As if on cue the front door slammed.  
"Finally." Peyton muttered under her breath. She had been eyeing the wine in the middle of the table for the past ten minutes challenging her week long sober streak.  
Everyone could hear Dan walk towards the dining room, a second pair of shoes walking beside him. The doors opened and next to Dan was a man that Brooke had never seen before.  
"Uncle Keith." Lily shrieked jumping out of her chair to give her favourite Uncle a hug. "You're back."  
"Course I am kiddo, did you think I was going to miss your brother's wedding?" He smiled at Luke and then sat down next to him in the free seat.  
"This must be the lucky girl." Keith laughed when he saw Brooke in front of him. "Nice to meet you, I'm Keith Scott."  
Brooke couldn't help herself; Lily had told her so much about Uncle Keith and as it appeared she hadn't been exaggerating.  
"Brooke Davis." She smiled back at him. "I was wondering when I get to meet the famous Uncle Keith."  
He glanced towards Lily, "Has she been telling stories again?"  
"Maybe." Lily joked, "But you know you love it."

As Keith and Lily joked around with each other Brooke saw something in Keith's eyes that looked familiar; the glint of humour, the warmth and kindness in them. It was certainly something that he didn't share with his younger brother. Before she could think about it anymore though, Janice walked through the doors leading to the kitchen carrying dinner.  
Without another word said, dinner was served and everybody was shoveling down the food.

.:.:.:.:.

After dinner, Brooke and Haley, who was carrying Jamie, followed Lily and Keith into the living room.  
"So, where have you been Keith?" Haley asked as they all sat down. Peyton had left to go meet some boyfriend; Luke and Nathan were playing one-on-one outside and Karen and Dan were busy.  
"I spent some time in Africa and Australia." Keith explained. "Heard news of my nephew getting engaged and thought I'd come back to investigate." He laughed again. "You're a very brave girl." He said solemnly towards Brooke. "Just make sure to find your own place as quickly as possible."  
Lily looked panicked at that because Brooke and Luke moving out would mean it was just her, Peyton and her parents living in the house. Brooke didn't know how to reply to that but it was okay because Lily got Keith into a long story about Australia. After ten minutes Brooke started to get bored and wandered outside to go find the basketball game which was nowhere near finished. As she sat down she thought about what Keith had told her. _Move out as soon as possible. _Would she really be able to do that? Could she survive living on her own with Lucas? As Nathan shot another goal though she realised that she wouldn't be living with Lucas on her own. Nathan had moved out when he and Haley had got married six years ago. He was still here nearly every night for dinner. As the game finally came to a close the two boys came to sit down next to Brooke.  
"I want my own place." Brooke spoke up before she lost her nerve. "After the wedding I don't want to live here."  
If Lucas was surprised he didn't show it. "You want to live in the city?" He didn't have any emotion in his voice and this bothered Brooke slightly. Normally he was so much more…alive. Brooke nodded; anywhere.

"I can't believe Keith is back." Nathan spoke up. It had been bothering him since Keith had arrived.  
"I know." Luke agreed. "I wonder if someone called him?"  
"Who like Dan?" They were talking as if Brooke wasn't there. She came to realise that this family had so many more secrets than what was on the surface; secrets from each other.  
Luke snorted. "Dan would let Keith rot in hell. Mum called him; I'm sure of it."  
Brooke wasn't surprised that Dan hated his brother; Dan hated everybody but himself. It was why Dan hated his brother that had Brooke interested.  
"Why…" Brooke was cut off by Lucas.  
"It's better if you don't know."  
Possibly to distract Brooke's attention Nathan grabbed the abandoned ball. "Another game?" He challenged Luke.  
Luke jumped up and grabbed the ball off his brother before shooting a goal from where he was standing. "Game on."

Frustrated with the boys Brooke went back inside, but as she heard Lily's laughter from the living room she realised she didn't want to go back in there either. So that was how, at nine o'clock on a Friday night she ended up climbing into bed, wondering just what sort of secrets were deeply buried in this family history.

.:.:.:.:.

"Miss Davis. Miss Davis; it is time to wake up." Brooke groaned and opened one eye. The new maid Esmeralda was standing over her bed. Brooke shook her head. She looked over at the clock radio which stated it was eight in the morning.  
"It's too early." She rolled over again to face Luke's back, he was sleeping through this. He didn't have the maid waking him up.  
"Mrs. Scott asked me to wake you up. She said that you have to go look at dresses."  
Brooke sat up quickly. She swore she heard Lucas laugh quietly. "Dresses?" She choked.  
"Yes, Miss Scott and Miss Scott are already downstairs waiting. They're getting impatient." Brooke grumbled but climbed out of bed. "Thank you." She smiled at Esmeralda and watched as she left the room. Then she threw on her comfiest pair of jeans and an old sweater and tied her hair back into a simple boring ponytail. As she walked downstairs she grabbed an apple out of the kitchen and walked into the living room where her maid-of-honour, Lily, was jumping around at the base of the stairs waiting for Brooke. Peyton, who was a very reluctant bridesmaid had her headphones on and was looking as pleased as Brooke felt about being up this early. Haley, her third bridesmaid had managed to get out of today because she had to take Jamie to the hospital.  
Karen was on her phone talking to someone and Brooke only caught the last of the call.  
"Yes…uh huh…thank you." She hung up the phone and smiled at Brooke.  
"Finally." She smiled at Brooke. "Today, we're going to find you your dream dress." Brooke groaned again. Today was going to be a long day.

By ten in the morning Brooke was in the change room of the third shop for the day trying on what felt like the millionth dress.  
"Argh." Her disdain for the dress was evident.  
"It can't be that bad Brooke." Karen said from the other side of the curtain. Just come out and show us."  
Brooke walked into the showroom where they were waiting to see her. It was a frilly dress with bows on the sleeves. Karen approved.  
"As your maid-of-honour;" Lily snorted, "I can't let you go out in public in that."  
Brooke smiled at Lily and swiveled around, ready to get out of the dress and never have to look at it again.  
They were unsuccessful again in that shop. As they all climbed into Karen's car she crossed off the shop's name in her short list of names.  
"We should take a short break." Karen announced and Brooke sighed in relief.  
When they wound up at Central Park though, Brooke doubted Karen's seemingly innocent suggestion.  
"What are we doing here?" They had climbed out of the car and were walking towards one of the many gardens. Before anyone could answer though she spotted a young girl stroking a horse that was resting on the side of the path.  
"Katie." She took off running towards her sister.

.:.:.:.:.

The realtor was almost falling over backwards. The Scott brothers along with their Uncle were looking through apartments. It was a similar excursion to the dress shopping in that Luke couldn't find a place he liked or even remotely liked.  
"We don't have many more houses on the market Mr. Scott." The woman whose badge read Deb sounded genuinely upset that she didn't have many more places because she really wanted to sell to the Scott's. "We only really have one more place left."  
Before Luke could get in and say anything though Keith cut him off.  
"We'll see it Deb." The Keith Scott smile melted anyone.

Even Luke was impressed; standing in the huge living area staring out of the window was a picturesque view of the city. The rooms were huge and light and it was the penthouse apartment.  
"I'll take it." Luke announced. He might not admit it but Brooke's wish to move out of the family house was a blessing. If they stayed where they were the chances were that they would turn out like Dan and Karen.  
"Does your fiancée not want to see the house first?" She asked, already pulling out the paperwork.  
"I'm sure she'll love it." He said signing the papers.

**Finally, an update!! It took me longer to write because I had to introduce Keith, but it was also a longer chapter. The chapter does seem a bit off to me, but then that could just be me. As always review and tell me what you think of the chapter. I'll be writing a lot more over the school break so you might even get a fast update :)  
And my apologies if I've made any errors. I know nothing about NYC or buying a house.  
-- Casey xx**


	9. You Can't Always Get What You Want

The perfect dress had been found; a white strapless dress that billowed slightly from the waist down. The pale pink bridesmaids' dresses had been fitted and delivered to Haley's place. Central Park was being set up for the ceremony and the chefs at the Ritz Hotel were busy cooking a three course meal for one hundred people. The Davis family had arrived quietly in the city while the Scott's and Roe's extended family were flooding in from everywhere. Security had been tightened around town, especially at the park and the hotel where all the guests were staying.  
Brooke sat quietly in her bedroom thinking through everything; the wedding was tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day she became Brooke Davis- Scott. The pure thought of it made her shudder. Her suitcase was packed for her night at Haley's place and the rest of the room was in boxes, waiting to be transported to the apartment that Lucas had showed her a week go.

As she stood up to leave she calculated in her head how long she had been living here. Almost Twelve weeks. Almost three months, engaged to Lucas Scott. She repressed another shudder as she pulled her suitcase out the room and down the stairs. Waiting for her was Lily and Brooke who were also going to Haley's for the night. Her fourth bridesmaid, her sister Katie, was already at Haley's house; waiting for them to arrive.  
"Have a great night." Karen hugged Brooke as they were almost out the door. "Tomorrow is going to be such a busy day."  
Brooke nodded; and then Dan was in front of her. He didn't say anything but he did smile at her. Dan Scott smiling was creepy but Brooke realised that it was him trying to be sincere. She knew that his deal with Bryon Publications had been secured in the last couple of weeks and she knew that a big reason behind that was the good publicity she had been putting into the family. She gave him a small smile back before they all climbed into Brooke's car and sped off towards Haley's house.

.:.:.:.:.

For a moment speeding through the streets towards Haley's place, Brooke thought she wasn't going to make it one piece. Peyton just seemed to continue pressing on the accelerator speeding the car up. When she suddenly pulled the car to a stop outside Haley and Nathan's house Brooke stumbled out the second the car stopped.  
Lily was a bit more relaxed about it; she laughed softly as she climbed out of the passenger seat and helped Brooke up.  
"You'll get used to it." She smiled.  
Katie was out of the house and running towards Brooke the second she heard the car stop.  
Brooke grinned and grabbed her up into a tight hug.  
"Katie. Oh, it's so good to see you."

She looked up and saw Haley standing from the doorway, glasses of wine for herself and Brooke already in her hands. Tonight it was just the five girls since Jamie was at Nathan's house with the boys.  
Haley smiled and held out on of the glasses to Brooke. She had been in Peyton's car before and so she knew at this point Brooke would want a drink.  
"Do you have something stronger?" She murmured as she walked up to Haley and gratefully took the drink.  
"Not if you want to be sober tomorrow."  
"Always the responsible one." Brooke muttered.

.:.:.:.:.

Haley had cleared out her massive living room and spread five large mattresses out. Haley had gone all out to make sure that this night was fun for Brooke. Bowls and bowls of food lay around on the floor and the bottles of non alcoholic drinks sat on the nearby table.  
Haley had gone into the kitchen to refill the bowl of chips when Brooke took the chance to sneak away.  
Brooke found Nathan's hidden stash of alcohol and sneaked out the back. She loved Haley so much but it was the night of her wedding and she _really _just wanted to get drunk.  
"Brooke Davis, getting drunk. Who thought I'd ever see the day." The cold voice cut through the air. She could practically hear Peyton's smirk in her tone.  
"What do you want Peyton?"  
Peyton ignored her and sat down next to her trying to make a grab for the bottle. Brooke was quicker though and moved it away.  
"No way in hell."  
"Everyone thinks you're so sweet and innocent; but you're full of bullshit, and you're going to ruin my brother's life."  
Brooke rolled her eyes. "Why's that Peyton?"  
"He has a life. He doesn't want to be tied down yet. He had a girlfriend before you came along."  
Brooke rolled her eyes. "I never asked to marry your brother; and I've never seen a girlfriend."  
"It was my friend Chelsea; they were meant to be getting serious."  
"So let me get this straight; he never actually met the girl." Brooke stood up. "You do realise that your brother and I are being made to do this because of you right?"

Back inside the house Katie had fallen asleep and Lily was struggling to keep her eyes open. Brooke found Haley in the kitchen cleaning dishes.  
"What are you doing?" Brooke asked sitting down at the counter. "Does it need to be done right now?"  
Haley smiled and put down the towel. "It keeps my hands busy, so I don't accidentally strangle Peyton."  
Brooke could understand that.  
"How do you do it Haley?"  
"Do what?"  
"Be a Scott? I'm not sure if I'm ready."  
"I'm not a Scott." Haley replied simply. "You just need to make sure you never give in to what they want. Never take Peyton in when she turns up at your place at midnight."  
"I'm marrying her twin brother. Luke's not gonna kick her out."  
Haley smiled sweetly. "You just need to learn his one weakness."

They walked through to the living room to find hat Lily had given in to sleep and that Peyton had disappeared.  
"Is she going to turn up tomorrow drunk?" Brooke sighed climbing underneath the sheets.  
"It will be a miracle if she turns up tomorrow." Haley echoed Brooke's sigh before she turned the lights off and they both drifted off to sleep.

**Okay, so this wasn't a fast update like I promised; but I wasn't expecting so much homework or work shifts over the break. But I haven't forgotten the story – I promise. Review and I'll ****promise ****another update within a week :)**

**-- Casey xx**


	10. The Show Must Go On

**Disclaimer: I don't put these in much anymore because by now, we all know that I don't own One Tree Hill. If I did Luke wouldn't be with Lindsay or Peyton ;)**

The pain killers Brooke had taken weren't working, and she was beginning to have a nervous breakdown.  
It was mid afternoon and the limos were waiting out the front to take them all to Central Park for the wedding and Peyton was missing. Her mother and Karen had shown up an hour or so ago within _seconds _of each other; and it was safe to assume that they couldn't stand each other. The DJ on the local radio station couldn't stop talking about "_the wedding of the year"_; and he was predicting a late thunderstorm.  
She might not be a great advocate for this whole wedding – but it was still her wedding day.  
"We'll have to go without her." Karen spoke up. "We are not going to let Peyton ruin this day."  
Brooke groaned from her spot, Peyton was going to find a way to ruin this day; she needed more painkillers.  
"You'll be one bridesmaid short of course," Karen continued. "That's okay of course, Tim can sit out."  
Brooke eyed the spot where she knew Nathan kept his alcohol and seriously thought about it; but before she could actually do anything Lily was leading her out to the limo.

.:.:.:.:.

Brooke gasped when the limo pulled up at Central Park, the place was packed, but it looked totally transformed. She had been here when Karen first showed her the place and when she had to, at least pretend to, make the decisions about the ceremony; but now – there were flowers everywhere and the whole place just looked like the fairy tales her parents had read to her and Katie growing up.  
As the limo pulled up just away from the path; they could watch the boys at the altar for a minute before they had to get out. Karen had called ahead so Tim was sitting in the front row next to Dan; glad he didn't have to stand up there anymore. Brooke watched Lucas for a second and he looked as nervous as she felt, he kept wiping his palms on his pants and turning to talk to Nathan.  
"This is how I felt on my wedding day too." Haley promised reaching out to grab her hand. "Just remember it will all be over soon."  
"So you went through all this too?" Brooke looked up.  
"Well, Nathan and I just took off one night and eloped." Haley smiled a bit. "But I was really nervous beforehand.

Then, all of a sudden, they had to get out. Karen and Victoria climbed out first to go and take their seats at the front. Then Haley and Katie climbed out and took their places to walk down the aisle. Lily climbed out and then Edward was at the door, waiting to walk her down the aisle.  
She brought the veil down over her face before accepting her father's hand to climb out.  
"You look beautiful sweetheart." Edward smiled kissing her cheek. "I'm really happy for you."  
"Oh, I'm sure you are." Brooke scowled. "Can we please just get this over with?"

The music started and Katie started the procession down the path. Haley followed, and then Lily. Then everyone stood up and turned to face Brooke. As she walked down the aisle with her father next to her, she fought back the tears. This was it; the point of no return.  
Brooke must have fazed out; running on auto pilot because what seemed like a second later they were at the vows and Lucas was gently holding her hands, looking straight at her.

"Lucas Eugene Scott, do you take Brooke Penelope Davis to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage. Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honour and keep her; For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her; so long as you both shall live?"

Lucas paused, and for a second out of the corner of her eye, Brooke thought she saw Dan and Karen both tense up.  
"I Do." He slipped the slender wedding band on her finger, to match the engagement ring.

"Brooke Penelope Davis, do you take Lucas Eugene Scott to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage. Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honour and keep her; For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all other, be faithful only to her; so long as you both shall live?"

"I Do." She repeated Luke, slipping his band on his finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." He smiled and turned to Lucas. "You may now kiss your bride."  
Lucas lifted the veil over her face and leaned in and kissed her gently. It was innocent and looked loving and tender. When he pulled away, everybody was on their feet clapping and cheering.

Before they could go to the reception though; the photos needed to be taken. Brooke stood to the side, next to an equally as still Lucas while Karen and Dan argued with each other and the photographer about the best place for the photos. Then once they had all agreed on a spot they argued about who was to stand where.  
Brooke wanted to snap, she wanted to tell them that as much as she regretted it, it was still her wedding and she just wanted the photos taken so she could go to the reception and have a drink.

Once the photographer took the final photo, Brooke and Lucas were out of there. Luke grabbed her hand and practically started pulling her to the reception.  
"Don't be late to the reception." Karen called out after them; the day wasn't over just yet and she was still worried about some catastrophe happening.  
As the limo pulled away from the park and into the traffic of New York City, Lucas looked through the small fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne and a couple of glasses. He poured one for Brooke and then took a sip of his own.  
"I would give you something stronger; but we need to behave for the wedding." He sounded so genuine and serious that Brooke actually gave in and smiled.  
"I promise though; the stronger stuff is waiting for us in the hotel room."  
Brooke laughed; she couldn't help herself. The wedding itself was over, she was the new "Mrs. Scott", and Luke was actually being nice.

"So," Luke started as they sat in the traffic, as they took the long way to the hotel; "My sister disappeared last night."  
Brooke nodded. "She likes to torment people doesn't she?" Brooke hadn't spent a lot of time with Peyton since coming to New York and she wasn't really bothered by that.  
"She's just trying to get attention. It's been like that since Lily was born. Everyone just gave her so much attention."  
"Peyton said something to me last night." Brooke decided to bring it up in a split second. "Were you dating her friend Chelsea before your mother…arranged this?" She paused at the end, not sure how to word it.  
Lucas laughed and finished his glass of champagne, before pouring himself another one. "Chelsea." He thought about it for a second. "Peyton wants there to be something when there's nothing."  
"I just want to know if there was someone, just to prepare myself for the gossip."  
Before Lucas could reply though the driver was at their door. They had arrived at the hotel; and everyone was already there.

Stepping into the foyer of the hotel and towards the ballroom, they could hear Skills.  
"…In welcoming Mr. and Mrs. Scott." The doors opened just as they approached and they walked in to all the applause and cheers.

They made it through the meal; they made it through the speeches where Dan talked about the 'wonderful, beautiful girl Lucas had met', and how much 'Luke had grown since meeting Brooke'. Skills, Luke's best man, said how much the romance surprised him but it was obvious how much they loved each other. Lily made a short and sweet speech about how true love never runs smoothly and then sat down; avoiding the glares of her mother who was angry that her daughter hadn't said the speech Karen wanted. They even miraculously survived their first dance as "man and wife", the bridal waltz.

.:.:.:.:.

When, just past midnight, the party started winding down Brooke and Lucas snuck away to the honeymoon suite that was theirs for the night. Luke, who was by now a little tipsy from all the champagne he had drunk, carried Brooke through the door. Her head was resting against his chest, because her head from the champagne she had drunk.  
"Not more champagne." Brooke groaned when she saw what was waiting for them on the table.  
"Have a great night, Love mum and dad." Lucas read the small handwritten card. Lucas threw the card away. "Don't worry; I made sure they put in the stronger stuff this morning." He pulled the bottle out of the fridge and drunk straight out of the bottle.  
"Don't drink it all." He had laid Brooke down on the bed and now she was sitting up and reaching for the bottle. She had never been a big drinker and she knew she would regret it later but she wanted it really bad.  
"My, my Mrs. Scott." Luke laughed as Brooke swallowed the unfamiliar taste. "Who knew? Here we all thought you were good for the family."  
Brooke knew she was bordering on close to drunk, but Lucas seemed genuinely nicer. He was opening up more and actually having fun with her.  
Brooke put the bottle down on the table next to her and reached out to pull Lucas down. He instantly understood, and gently began kissing her as she pulled his jacket off and threw it to one side of the room.

He was being gentle with her, not wanting to push things too fast, and Brooke was getting tired of it. She had his jacket, tie and shirt off and she was still completely clothed. She wanted to move away to get the dress off but at the same time she didn't want Lucas to stop. She didn't need to act though because Lucas was practically reading her mind; he started to unzip her dress, letting it fall around off around her waist…

* * *

**I know you hate me dangling bits of Brucas in front of you and then yanking it away again, but I hope that tides you over for now.  
They might be married now, and Lucas might be opening up but things are far from over, and far from easy. I'm just getting started. **

**I also know you all want some more Naley scenes. I want to give them to you but unfortunately I have trouble writing Naley and I so do not want to ruin it for you guys. If any of you can help me, my personal email is on my profile page or you can message me.  
As always, don't forget to keep reviewing. It really does help me update faster ;)**

**-- Casey xx**


	11. What Comes After The Blues

When Brooke woke up in the morning she was greeted by the sun streaming in from the window and an empty space next to her. It didn't affect her; she had grown used to it, but still was slightly surprised, after everything that happened yesterday and last night she had thought he would have stayed.  
She sat up to look around the large room and groaned. Her head throbbed; it felt like someone was drilling into it.  
She lay back down, turning face down into her pillow and covered her head with the other; blocking out the light and noise; slowly falling back to sleep.

When she woke up again, the headache was far from gone but was now bearable. She rolled over and this time was surprised. The reason she had woke up was because Luke had sat down on the bed next to her, watching her sleep.  
"Good morning." He whispered, reservation evident his voice.  
"Morning." She whispered back as she struggled to sit up. For the first time that morning she noticed her dress crumpled on the floor, she had fallen asleep in a singlet that had been in her overnight bag which had been delivered to the hotel.  
"Yesterday really happened." Brooke whispered, unsure herself if it was a question or merely a statement. The garden; the ceremony; the party, it all felt like a dream. Luke nodded.  
"What happens now?" Brooke pulled the bed cover up and tighter around her chest.  
"All our furniture is being moved into our new apartment. We move in later today."  
There was no honeymoon. It had been decided their belated honeymoon would be in three months. A private holiday in Madrid just after the family's Christmas celebration.

"Peyton's still missing." Luke's seemingly nonchalant comment didn't fool Brooke; he was worried about his sister. "She didn't turn up at the police station, or hospital, and no nightclub saw her."  
"Peyton's fine." Brooke promised. She had to hand it to her, she new how to ruin something. "She's probably letting of steam over the fact she couldn't stop the wedding."  
Luke opened his mouth to reply but thought better of it and closed it again.  
The phone rang then & Luke picked up.  
"Come on; my parents are downstairs to meet us for lunch."

.:.:.:.:.

Once Brooke was dressed and looking refreshed they headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant. The scene that met them in the restaurant was a far cry to the carefree attitude everyone had yesterday.  
In addition to Dan and Karen, Lily, Haley and Katie were there, as was Skills, Nathan, Jamie and Tim. Victoria and Edward were there and so was Uncle Keith; with his date for the wedding – the real estate agent that had sold Luke his apartment, Deb.  
"Good morning." Brooke smiled; being as cheerful as she could muster in her hangover.  
There were scattered responses as Brooke and Luke took their seats. A waiter hurried over to give the tables menus and then disappeared again.

The tension was there and it was evident. Nobody was talking, not even Jamie who usually couldn't stop. Dan was reading a paper and Karen was busy on her blackberry. Haley and Nathan kept up a silent conversation and everyone else just looked everywhere at each other.  
Brooke tried several times to start a conversation but no one was keeping up the conversation; so their family brunch was eaten in a strained silence before everyone disappeared back to their rooms.

Once again in the hotel room, Luke was the tensed and reserved person Brooke knew. The room had been cleaned while they were eating and their clothes were all packed up with her dress hanging up.  
"Are you ready to go?" He posed it as a question but it was really a statement. He wanted to leave the hotel _now. _She nodded and together they walked downstairs to his car that was already waiting by the front door.

Once in the car, his personality changed again and Brooke was finding it difficult to distinguish between the two. With the music going and him driving through the busy streets he was carefree and happy again.  
"You are going to love this apartment." He spoke loudly over the music. She had seen it once but it had been only a quick glance through. "It's so big."  
"No Dan either." Brooke smiled. One thing that she was glad of; she was no longer under the same roof as Dan Scott.  
Luke laughed and sharply turned a corner. Luke's driving was a lot like Peyton's; it was going to take a lot of getting used to.

.:.:.:.:.

The doorman and security guard who occupied the silent lobby of the apartment building were surprised when the new owners of the penthouse walked through the doors. Lucas Scott and his new wife Brooke. Luke was loud and boisterous and they knew the stories of the parties Luke Scott liked to throw. Brooke was the complete opposite; she came in five steps behind Luke and quietly introduced herself to the two men. When she followed him into the elevator and the doors slid closed, the two men shared a glance. They had seen a lot working in this building and all they could do was imagine what would happen now.

"Have you been drinking today?" Brooke asked in the quiet elevator. She was coming into a theory. He was more relaxed and open with her if he had alcohol in his system.  
"Maybe."  
"It's one in the afternoon." Brooke exclaimed as the light above the door showed they were nearing the top floor. "How much could you have possibly drunk?"  
Luke counted in his head for a second but when the door opened and he was still counting Brooke gave up and stormed out. She had married an alcoholic.  
"I was thinking; I've only had a bottle or two." He called out, following after her.  
When he reached her standing next to the door, without saying anything he picked her up in his arms. Identical to what he had done last night.  
"What are you doing?" Except this time Brooke wasn't drunk.  
"Carrying you in. Like I'm meant to." He struggled to fit the key into the door. When he managed to get it open and get Brooke through the door he released her again and she stumbled as she caught her footing.

Brooke spent the afternoon unpacking boxes, while Luke pretended to unpack as well. So when she crawled under the covers that night and closed her eyes, ready for sleep and Luke cuddled up to her back she got really frustrated with what was going through his head.  
"What are you doing?" She whispered as he started to kiss the back of her neck.  
"Don't you like it?" He didn't stop. She couldn't bring herself to reply. Last night had been nice, and as much as she hated the situation she was in, she didn't necessarily want him to stop. So, instead she rolled over and started to kiss him back.  
"We _are _married." She justified as Luke's mouth moved away from hers and down to her neck and collarbone. Why she had to justify their actions, though she didn't know.

**Thank you so much for all the reviews. Don't stop now, it really does make me update faster :)**


	12. Life In A Glass House

Two weeks had passed since the wedding and Brooke was as confused as she had ever been. During the day Luke was as he had always been. Reserved; tense. Showing the emotion everyone wanted to see when they were out in public. At night, he was a different man. At night he wanted to be close to Brooke, and it had been the same every single night since the first night in the hotel.

At the moment, it was midday on Tuesday and Brooke was babysitting Jamie while Haley and Nathan shared a rare private lunch and afternoon with each other. Brooke had spent the last hour trying unsuccessfully to get Jamie to eat his lunch, when all he was interested in was the basketball that Luke had brought for him a month ago. Brooke had just given up her attempts to entice him to eat the food when the front door slammed open and Luke walked in, followed by Skills and Tim.  
"Unca Luka." Jamie squealed and jumped up to race to his favourite Uncle.  
"Hey buddy." Luke laughed picking him up. "Have you been behaving for Aunty Brooke?"  
Jamie nodded innocently and then squirmed to be put down again. As Brooke watched them she couldn't help but notice the subtle look of disappointment in Tim's eyes. Personally, she thought he was waiting for the day they walked in to find Brooke walking around in her underwear.  
"You okay there Tim?" She asked him, making him jump. The look was replaced with fear, fear of Luke finding out about his fantasies of his wife; the incident by the pool, just after their engagement was still fresh in his head.

.:.:.:.:.

Skills and Tim disappeared soon afterwards and that left Brooke and Luke alone with Jamie. They spent a carefree afternoon together and when the four o'clock news started Haley and Nathan hadn't shown up yet so Luke sat down to watch the news with Jamie while Brooke cleaned up the mess that had been made.  
"_…First tonight, merely two weeks after the wedding of Scott Enterprises heir Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis, reports are emerging from Nevada that Scott's twin sister Peyton Elizabeth has also wed."_  
Brooke dropped the plate she had been carrying into the kitchen and as it shattered over the floor, she was already back in front of the TV as Luke was turning it up. No one had seen or heard from Peyton since the night before the wedding and Dan and Karen had been debating over what publicity _another _missing persons report would generate.  
_"Scott and musician Leon Williams, have been seen around the city's casinos and bars, Scott supporting a very large ring on her left hand finger. Sources closes to the couple have confirmed the wedding. William's rep is still to comment." _Peyton's month odd long sobriety had been ruined.

Brooke glanced over at Luke who was sitting very still in his seat. Unsure of how he would react she lifted Jamie up onto her waist.  
"Come on buddy. Come help Aunty Brooke in the kitchen."  
Ten minutes later when Haley and Nathan were at the front door, Luke still hadn't moved.  
"Go talk with your brother." Brooke pleaded Nathan. She hadn't managed to get him to talk. Nathan shot Brooke a questioning glance but walked towards the living room where Luke was.  
"What's going on?" Haley asked as Brooke handed her Jamie.  
"It was on the news ten minutes ago. Apparently Peyton married Leon Williams in Vegas."  
Haley was as every bit shocked as Brooke had been. "Luke hasn't moved or spoken in ten minutes." Brooke added on. "It's like he went into shock."  
"Karen can't cover this up." Haley said as they slowly walked towards Nathan and Lucas. "Dan is going to chuck a fit." When they walked in to the living room, both boys had gone oddly silent. They knew what Haley knew. Dan and Karen were going to go mental.  
"I just hope Dan's deal was signed and sealed." Nathan looked straight at Haley. "Otherwise there's going to be a serious problem." With that man it was always business.

For the rest of the evening Brooke shielded phone calls from family, friends and press while Luke tried to unsuccessfully contact his sister.  
After a quick dinner Brooke curled up under the covers in bed while Luke continued to try and call his sister. When he gave up and walked into the bedroom at midnight; Brooke was still awake, unable to sleep. Without saying a word Luke climbed under the covers and turned away from Brooke, falling asleep almost instantly. When she heard his quiet snoring she also closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

.:.:.:.:.

Brooke woke up at eight thirty the next morning to find that Luke was still asleep, still on the edge of his side of the bed. Unusual; as he was normally awake and out by the crack of dawn.  
She slipped through to the kitchen and was halfway through making herself a coffee when there was a knock at the front door. Leaving her coffee on the front counter she opened the door to find Lily, bag packed full of clothes in one hand.  
"Lily, what are you doing here?" Brooke yawned letting her in.  
"I can't stay there, not anymore. Please Brooke. They're both mental." As Brooke went to go make another cup of coffee, Lily went on "Everything's just business or bloody publicity."  
"Have they found Peyton yet?" Brooke asked leading them into the living room.  
"No." She exclaimed. "They're taking it all out on me though. Apparently I should know where my sister is at all times."  
She took a deep breath and sip of the coffee to calm herself down. It worked.  
"I was publicity as well." Lily said a lot quieter than before. "Before I was born, when I was baby, growing up, everyone had to think about what people would say."  
"Why?" Now that she had her coffee, Brooke was waking up a bit more.  
"Dan's not my biological father." Lily said bluntly. "Uncle Keith is. My mum has always worried about how people would react if they saw me and Keith together, if they'd see the resemblance."  
"It's not that hard." Brooke admitted; she had suspected it the night she first met Keith.  
"Yeah, well. That's why he travels a lot now. So people can't make the resemblance. He's apparently staying in New York now though; says he isn't afraid of Dan's threats."

As Lily drank the rest of her coffee in silence Brooke went to get dressed. She was about to go back out to Lily went Luke groaned from the bed.  
"Brooke?"  
"Yeah Lucas?" She walked around to his side of the bed. He still looked like he was pretty shocked from the night before.  
"Who's out there? I don't want to see anyone today."  
"It's Lily. She left home. She's going to stay here for a while."  
He muttered something unintelligible. He rolled over so his back was facing Brooke, and she walked back out to Lily.

Lily was resting on the couch, she had already thrown her bag into the guest room and was flicking through the TV channels.  
"So how'd Luke take the news?" She asked as she flicked through a bunch of sports channels.  
"Not well." Brooke tried to get the remote. "He's still in bed. He doesn't want to see anyone today."  
Just as she finished speaking though, there was a knock at the door.  
"That's going to be difficult." Lily laughed as Brooke stood up sighing, it was going to be a long day.

**A/N:Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I didn't think they were anything special either but then again I guess there have to be some average chapters.  
A lot of you guessed that Lily was Keith's daughter. I had that planned all along. I could never make Lily Dan's daughter. It's just not right.  
Keep on reviewing and the next chapter should be up within the next two or three days.**

**-- Casey xx**


	13. Spirit In The Night

Brooke and Haley were at Haley's favourite outdoor café, enjoying the sun while waiting for their lunch to come. Summer was finally coming to an end and everybody was taking full advantage of what ever small time was left before school started again for another year.  
It was one in the afternoon and Brooke had escaped her apartment leaving Lily alone with Jamie and a still sleeping Luke.  
As Brooke and Haley talked quietly to each other Brooke couldn't help but notice the people staring at their table and whispering to their friends a second later. She didn't understand; she was nothing. There was nothing interesting to gossip about. As people walking past on the street stop to whisper Brooke almost lost it.  
"Ignore them." She whispered quietly. "It's not worth stressing over."  
"How do you do it?" Brooke hissed just as their food was finally put on the table. "How do you do this day in day out?"  
"You get used to the people." Haley was hungry and started eating straight away; Brooke took a little longer picking at her food.  
"More than the staring; how do you do_ everything? _Lucas is a switch, I don't get him."  
Haley almost laughed. "Nathan was like that in the beginning too." She promised. When Brooke didn't look convinced she added. "Seriously, they just need to relax and then they open up."

.:.:.:.:.

Before Brooke could snap at the millionth person who whispered about her, Haley whisked her away back to the apartment. Brooke gave a quick smile to the doorman who was beginning to warm up to the Scott's before the elevator took them up to the top floor.

As Brooke opened the door, she could see Jamie make a bolt for Haley who was two steps behind her.  
"Lily?" Brooke called out. Lily was meant to be watching Jamie. There was a groan from the living room and Brooke smiled, she couldn't help it. Fifteen months old and Jamie was already running his sixteen year old aunt off her feet.  
Brooke laughed when she saw Lily, spread out on the couch with her eyes shut. Before Brooke could say anything though there was a crash that came from within the bedroom.  
"Has he come out at all today?" Brooke asked already walking towards the door.  
"Nope."

Brooke's smile disappeared once she had opened the door. Luke was on the floor, not moving.  
"Lucas." She whispered. "Luke, are you okay?"  
Luke groaned; and she sighed quietly with relief. At least he was conscious. She sat down on the floor next to him and waited for him to open his eyes. When he didn't she got annoyed.  
She slapped him across the face, confident this would be the only way to get a reaction out of him.  
She wasn't wrong.

"What are you doing?" He hissed, finally opening his eyes and sitting up.  
"What are you doing?" She countered. "It's nearly two in the afternoon and you're not even up yet. You have to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Peyton got married. So what? So did you." She was beginning to work herself up. "If Peyton wants to screw up her life that's her choice but you're gonna screw both our lives up."  
As she ranted, he calmed down and by the time she finished he looked remorseful.  
"I'm sorry." He whispered and for a second Brooke didn't know how to react; that was the first time she heard him say those words. "I won't let my sister get to me."  
Brooke smiled; happy she got through to him and then stood up, pulling him up with her. "Now Lily and Haley are out there so you're going to get dressed and come up to join your family."

.:.:.:.:.

Nathan had joined them shortly after and for a while the five of them were happy sitting in Brooke and Luke's living room listening to music and talking. When the phone rang, Brooke thought nothing of it as she picked up.  
"Hello Scott residence." She was laughing at something Nathan had just said.  
"Can I speak to Lucas?" The female voice sounded distant and echoic.  
"Peyton; is that you?"  
Four heads shot up when Brooke said Peyton's name. She glanced over at Luke who was already looking confused.  
"He doesn't want to talk at the moment." She turned away again so she wouldn't have to see his reaction.  
"Bullshit." Peyton sounded annoyed. "Listen bitch. Put my brother on the phone now."  
Brooke turned to look at Luke again; he sighed and somewhat reluctantly took the phone off Brooke.  
"What is it Peyton?" Peyton wasn't the only one sounding pissed off.

When Luke hung up five minutes later everybody was staring at him.  
"It's official." He sighed. "Peyton Elizabeth Scott Williams. She took his last name."  
"Does she know mum and Dan want to kill her?" Nathan asked.  
"I don't think she really cares."  
"Is she ever coming back?" Lily asked; however her tone suggested that she would prefer if she stayed away.  
"Apparently they're on there way back now."

Everybody disappeared soon after the phone call. Nathan and Haley left so they could put Jamie down for the night and Lily disappeared to the room she had claimed as hers. That left Brooke and Lucas alone. Brooke's head was resting on Luke's lap while he absent-mindedly stroked her hair. It was these small actions that had suddenly appeared in the last two weeks that surprised Brooke but she said nothing.

As Brooke fell into bed a couple of hours later Luke lay down next to her and wrapped her up tightly pulling her in close.  
"You've been so wonderful." He whispered into her hair as she closed her eyes and started drifting off to sleep; exhausted. "You're so beautiful and kind…"

As he continued to whisper, Brooke realised that this was him starting to relax.

**I've got serious writer's block at the moment so I'm sorry about the long waits. I promise that it's worth it and in the next chapter or so there will be more family and the return of a married Peyton.**

**I'm also looking for someone who has the technology and the skills to help me with making a video on YouTube.  
If you can help me, ****PLEASE ****pm me or email me (available on profile page).  
Thankyou**

**-- Casey xx**


	14. You Gotta Go There To Come Back

Brooke woke up to a feeling of dread. The snow falling lightly outside the window was meant to give her the feeling of peace and serenity it had always brought to her as a child; now it was daunting.  
It was Christmas Eve Day.  
She was meant to spend the night at the Scott Mansion before she and Lucas got on a plane for their belated honeymoon in Madrid. She rolled over to face Lucas and found an empty bed. He had already disappeared. As she walked out into the living room she found that he had already had their bags packed and they were waiting at the front door. She glanced at them curiously as she made her morning coffee. Normally, Lucas didn't do anything around the place; he usually left it up to her. As she ate breakfast she waited for him to come through the doors but he never did. They were meant to be at his parents by one o'clock for lunch and it was nine o'clock and he wasn't around.  
She turned on the television and flicked through channels. She made the bed and cleaned the bathroom. She has watched some more television and then at eleven thirty decided that she should probably get ready. She was just finishing her makeup when she heard the door slam.  
Lucas was home.  
"Brooke. Where are you?" Over the last three months this had grown to become his normal greeting. As the tension continued to slowly slip away he needed to constantly know where she was.  
"In the bathroom." She called back before walking out to greet him. He was fully dressed for his parents. "Where did you go?"  
"Just a meeting." He smiled. "Ready to go?" Brooke nodded.

Three months and Brooke still hadn't grown accustomed to Lucas's driving. As they sped towards the Scott Mansion, Brooke brought up the topic everybody had seemed to ignore.  
"Are Peyton and Leon going to be there?" She asked quietly. The two had arrived home only a month ago and so far Luke had only seen them once. Peyton hadn't faced anybody else.  
"I think so." The response came hard. The topic of his twin sister always made him tense. Brooke went to talk again but the beeping of her phone silenced her. She glanced at the message and smiled. Even though Lily had been living with them for the last couple of months she had spent some time with Keith before going to her parent's place as well. She wanted to know where Brooke was. Haley hadn't arrived yet and she was slowly going crazy.  
Five minutes later Luke's car was in the driveway and Brooke was climbing out of her seat. The driveway was already full. Dan and Karen's cars' were locked in the garage but Keith's car, Luke's car, Leon's car as well as a number of extended family and business associate's cars filled up the driveway. Nathan and Haley were yet to arrive.  
Luke took her hand and squeezed reassuringly. A large gathering like this at the Scott mansion still scared him slightly. "You ready?"  
Brooke nodded; but it didn't matter because they were already halfway to the door.

.:.:.:.:.

Dinner had just finished and Brooke bolted to the sanctuary of the bathroom before she lost her mind.  
"Are you okay?" Haley had followed Brooke up the stairs, recognising what she felt at her first Scott Christmas.  
"I'm fine Hales." Brooke lied between her teeth. The truth was she'd been feeling sick all day. "Go back downstairs."  
She listened to the retreating footsteps and then stood up to face herself in the mirror. Her hair was hanging loose and as usual she looked beautiful but she _really _wanted to scream. As much as she loved Haley and Lily and grown to like Luke, the family was fucked up.

She washed her face and walked back down the stairs. Extended family, friends and business associates had left so the atmosphere had tensed. Dan and Karen were sitting at opposite ends of the room. A rift having formed between them since Lily moved in with Brooke and Lucas. Keith was sitting on the large armchair with Deb next to him. Deb wasn't the most accepted person in the family and it was evident. Lily was opposite them glaring at Keith and Deb. She didn't trust Deb and what she was doing.  
Jamie was playing on the floor with his toys while Haley and Nathan had snuck outside. Brooke sat down to play with Jamie and noticed Luke in the kitchen talking quietly on his phone and Peyton and Leon in the corner, ignored by the rest of the family.

When Luke finished his conversation in the kitchen, instead of joining the family he stormed off to the bedroom. Knowing he had to be angry over something she excused herself and followed him up the stairs.  
"Luke, are you okay?" She asked quietly walking into the room. "What's wrong?" She found him in the bathroom leaning over the sink.  
"Nothing." He snapped. Brooke stopped at the door to the bedroom.  
"Who was on the phone?" Her voice was quiet so the conversation wouldn't carry downstairs.  
"Nobody." He snapped again. He turned around and stormed into the bedroom, narrowly avoiding Brooke. He brought out their half empty suitcases and started throwing clothes into them.  
"What are you doing?" She moved into stop him.  
"I'm taking you home. I have to go take care of some business." Brooke grabbed his arms so he couldn't keep moving.  
"We are not going anywhere." She whispered. "It's Christmas Eve and we're at your parent's house. Tomorrow afternoon we need to get on a plane. You are not leaving me at Christmas so you can go do business."  
He looked like he was going to argue but stopped himself. Reluctantly, he let Brooke guide him back downstairs.

.:.:.:.:.

The snow that had mocked Brook the day before continued to mock her. It was Christmas day and the snow was still falling.  
"Merry Christmas." Luke murmured, half asleep, next to her. They had spend last night how the usually spent their nights, the tension evident in the evening after the argument, missing.  
"Merry Christmas." She murmured back, not moving.

Brooke barely made it through the morning. The Scott festivities were everything her whole past hadn't been.  
In the afternoon when their suitcases had been packed and loaded into the backseat of the chauffeur driven car Brooke let herself relax a bit. She had denounced the continued feeling of nausea as stress on top of a common stomach bug. She said her goodbyes to the family and slid in next to Luke who was already on the phone.  
Her please for 'no business' the entire way to the airport were ignored.

His phone was eventually turned off for takeoff. They were both buckled into their seats and Brooke was sipping from a water bottle. She may have relaxed but the nausea hadn't disappeared.  
They weren't even out of America when it finally hit. She made ito the toilet just in time for Christmas lunch and dinner from the night before to come up  
"Are you okay?" A stewardess asked Brooke as she took her seat again. Luke had jis headphones on and didn't notice.  
"I'm fine." Her voice was hoarse and the other woman saw straight through it. She handed Brooke dry crackers and water which Brooke graciously accepted.  
It was when the cabin was dark and Brooke was drifting off to sleep when a sudden thought pulled her back into conscience. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense and the more it made her want to cry.

By the time they arrived in Madrid the next day Brooke was a mess. Luke absent mindedly took hold of her hand as they exited the plane and squeezed it. She could only offer a weak smile in return.  
For the entire ride to the hotel Brooke didn't say a word. She needed to know if it was true or not before she could say something that would eventually wind up in all the tabloid magazines.

She was in luck. Once they reached their room Luke had to make a phone call. Using this time she slipped out of the room and onto the street. She only had a limited knowledge of Spanish so after she went through the ordeal of finding a drugstore she had to communicate her needs to the slightly creepy, old man.


	15. Every Night Is Another Story

It was positive

**A/N: Another Update ) For this I thank my wonderful new beta Kate who has done an amazing job.  
Also this chapter is somewhat dedicated to Carabell and her brand new baby girl Brooklyn Dawn **

It was positive.  
Brooke didn't know how to tell Lucas she was pregnant. So she didn't. She kept it to herself for the entire week they were in Madrid. New Year's Eve came and went and so did the plane ride back to New York. When they arrived back on home ground they were relaxed, refreshed and "as loved up as ever", according to people magazine.  
Lily moved back into the apartment after spending time with Keith and kept herself busy with her school studies, so while Luke went out to another meeting Brooke was left by herself to consider this baby. Her baby; Lucas's baby. If she was perfectly honest with herself the thought of the whole baby thing scared her to death.  
"You Okay?" Lily walked into the living room shattering Brooke's thoughts; she picked up the book on her lap and feigned reading. It was after dinner and for the third time this week Luke had gone out to meet somebody, another business meeting. Or at least that's what he told her. He'd been so distant recently it was really beginning to worry her. Just when she thought they might actually have something real, something that made all the publicity and family drama worth putting up with, he began shutting her out. When it came to business, it was clear she was not a part of that side of his life. He was hiding something and she knew it, but right now she had more important things to deal with.

"Aren't you supposed to be studying?" Brooke snapped. Lily turned her head from the open refrigerator door giving Brooke a look of surprise.

"Food and water break. Unless you want me to pass out on those books its kind of a necessity. No need to bite my head off I just care bout you that's all…" Lily said picking up a bottle of water as she headed back to her room.

Brooke sighed. Great now she felt like crap. She'd managed to upset one of her only allies in this bizzaro family.

"Wait, Lily. I'm sorry buddy. Ignore me, K? I know I've been acting like queen bitchy today, I'm just tired that's all" Lily turned round to look at her new sister in law and smiled genuinely.  
"You sure you're okay? You've been quiet lately. Like extra quiet."  
Brooke smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine just jetlagged, give me another week and ill be right as rain." She told the younger girl. Brooke had come to love Lily and under everyday circumstances she would have been the first person she'd turn to for advice. But then this wasn't exactly an everyday problem.

"Go on girlie you better go and finish studying. You know your daddy's looking for any excuse to get you out of here." She said warmly giving Lily a sneaky wink.  
Lily smiled and gave her a small nod before turning and walking back towards the study, not entirely convinced by Brooke's reply.

Brooke picked up the neglected book that still lay open in her lap. Looking down, the same page she started on over an hour ago gazed back up at her. It was no good. However much she tried to distract herself, her mind was racing. She felt her eyes get heavier. Great; overtiredness another pearl of pregnancy she was gonna have to get used to. She wanted to wait up for Luke to get home; she wanted to know about the business deal…but as she rested her head on the corner of the leather couch she realised she was fighting a losing battle.

The next time she woke up, she was in her own bed underneath the covers. She rolled over and came face to face with Lucas who was very much awake.  
"Hi." Luke smiled. "You're awake."  
"What time is it?" Brooke whispered. She tried to see the clock.  
"It's midnight."  
"When did you get in?" She was already cuddling in closer to him. That was something she had grown used to fast; a warm body next to her every night. She let out a heavy breath relaxing into the warmth of his body and taking in his heady scent.  
"Five minutes ago. I just carried you to bed. Go back to sleep." He said staring down at her sleepy form affectionately.  
Brooke shut her eyes, she was exhausted, but then she remembered why she had stayed awake in the first place.  
"What is this business deal?" She asked, forcing her eyes open again. "Come to think of it, what kind of businessman has meetings at midnight?" she asked propping herself up onto her elbows.

"The devoted kind. It's nothing for you to worry about it. Come on Brooke it's late, go back to sleep. We'll talk later."  
Before she could ask another question Lucas had put down the papers he was looking over and turned out the lamp. As she lay in their marital bed gazing into the pitch black she came to the conclusion; one thing was for sure. She had married one stubborn man.

.:.:.:.:.

It was only five hours later when Brooke woke up again. The sun was just beginning to rise and despite her lack of sleep she couldn't stay in that bed any longer. Unable to lie still any longer, she carefully threw back the covers. She managed to make it to the bathroom without waking Luke or Lily. After taking a quick shower she got dressed and snuck out of the apartment. God she was restless. There was only one way to get rid of some of this nervous energy. While it was quiet and she wouldn't be missed she decided to go for a walk.

Heading towards central park she began to sort through some of the disjointed muddled thoughts that were running round her head. She was pregnant. The sooner she accepted that the sooner she could start to deal with it. And by dealing with it she meant telling Lucas. But how could she even consider telling him that piece of life changing news when he couldn't even find it in himself to explain to her what had him leaving the apartment at all hours of the day and night. How could she invest that trust in him and ask for that support, when he clearly felt she couldn't provide the same for him.  
A block, that's all she made it. Feeling uneasy she approached the first news stand she saw. Over the past few months she had become accustomed to seeing members of her new family splashed all over the front pages of the gossip magazines. Running her eyes over the spread of magazines, one immediately caught her attention. She felt her heart sink to her stomach, her eyes filling with completely unexpected tears; she paid for it quickly and ran back to the apartment.

Lucas had been awake for a little over half an hour. He had turned over to find the bed empty, a most unusual sight. He was the early riser out of the couple; there were no doubts about that. As he lay there staring at a crack on the ceiling, he began to consider the turn his life had taken in the last year. He'd never imagined himself as the type to be married at twenty one particularly not to a girl he barely knew. But life was funny like that-unpredictable. It wasn't like he had a say in the matter but he couldn't deny the fact that over the last few months he'd actually developed feelings to for Brooke. She was an amazing person and absolutely stunning to top it off. Of course he realised if it wasn't for his fathers questionable business priorities the two would have never met. His fathers work had always caused a rift in their family and he was determined to not follow in his footsteps. He wanted to tell her about the business deal but nothing was set in stone yet so what was the point in getting her hopes up? Soon he reassured himself.  
Feeling odd lying in bed alone he got up, slipped on some black basketball shorts and walked towards the kitchen in search of Brooke.

Brooke stormed into the apartment slamming the door shut behind her not caring who she woke up. Lucas looked up from the breakfast bar putting down his coffee, his face full of concern.  
"What's wrong Brooke?" He asked clueless.  
She threw the magazine she had brought onto the counter.  
"Business Deals!" She said through gritted teeth, enraged.

"Is that what there calling them these days? I found out about your so called _business deals_." She wanted to vent all her anger out on him. Lucas looked down at the magazine, confusion evident on his face.

"God how could I have been so stupid! I can't believe I trusted you. You know I actually thought this thing between us meant something to you, how dumb is that?" she said bitterly as she walked across the room feeling the need for distance between them. Luke looked down at the magazine cover and realised how bad this looked, raising his hand he rubbed his brow. The picture was a shot of him and his ex Holly Jane with his hand reaching out to hers in a busy club. **Trouble in Paradise **was the headline.

"Brooke it's not how it seems, it's complicated…" Lucas said

"Really? Because everything seems pretty clear to me. It all makes sense now; the late nights, long hours, private phone calls. But on our honeymoon Lucas? You _cheated_ on me on our HONEYMOON!" she shouted unable to control herself any longer.  
She was vaguely aware that Lily was standing behind her, but couldn't bring herself to turn and look at her.  
"Brooke…" He tried to explain. "Baby…please. Of course it means something. You mean something…"

"How can you say that?! How can you lie to my face? I'll give you something Lucas you're one hell of an actor" she said shaking her head in disgust.

"Just let me explain..." Lucas pleaded stepping towards her.

"Don't. Don't make excuses Lucas. You don't owe me anything; after all this whole marriage is a lie. What's one more?" She said. Her beautiful face stained with tears, the spark in her eyes dead, dark. She turned around and brushed past Lily taking Luke's car keys off the side table.

Lily glared at her brother,  
"You really are a dickhead." She hissed at him before storming off to her room.

.:.:.:.:.

**And as always, don't forget to review, because it truly does make me update faster**

**-- Casey xx**


	16. How Can You Be Sure?

**Okay, because you're all so amazing readers and reviewers and because my wonderful beta Kate can get two chapters out of my one I have another update for you. Great, I know. **

Brooke drove all the way to Haley and Nathan's house in silence, foot flat on the gas. She was vaguely aware it wasn't quite six in the morning yet but she needed someplace to go to just let everything out. Pulling up outside their house she hadn't even made it to the front door when Haley opened it.  
"We heard the car from down the street." She smiled. "Is Lucas with you?"  
Brooke shook her head. "He's cheating on me." She whispered. "It's on the cover of all the magazines."  
Haley was clearly shocked. Sure Lucas used to be well known for his inability to stay with one girl longer then 5 minutes, but she thought with Brooke it could be different. Putting aside any feelings he'd developed for her, Haley had thought the idea of Dan's reaction would be enough to stop Lucas from straying. She shook her head, sometimes you're wrong about people. Pulling herself together she smiled sympathetically and wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulders, leading her into the house.  
"Stay here as long as you want."

They were left alone for two hours. That's how long it took for Luke to find where Brooke was and get there without his car.  
"C'mon Haley. I know you're there." He called out pounding on the door. "I know Brooke's in there. My cars in the drive for god's sake! I need to talk to her." He shouted through the door, his voice growing a little hoarse.  
Brooke sat on the couch staring at the TV, she reached for the remote turning the volume up full blast trying to drown out Lucas' voice; the sound was deafening. After a few minutes Haley emerged from the kitchen muttering picking up the remote, she turned it off abruptly.

"That's not helping Brookie" She said giving her a sad smile.

Brooke let a sigh and rolled her eyes.  
"Brooke, please open up. What you saw wasn't what happened. I'm not cheating on you." Lucas spoke into the closed door his voice tired.  
"Do you seriously want her to believe that?" Haley hissed opening the door a crack. Seeing his chance, Lucas quickly pushed open the door.  
"It's the truth" He leaned in and saw Brooke. She was now standing at the entrance to the living room, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes cold.  
"Brooke, please, let me explain." He asked one more time walking across the threshold of the house.  
"Fine" Her voice was thick with tears she hadn't yet cried.  
No one moved.  
"In private."  
Still Brooke stood immobile for a second and then giving in, following him outside.

"Do you seriously believe I would cheat on you?" he asked as he paced up his brother's front porch.  
"Do you _seriously _want me to answer that?" Brooke replied. "You've been acting so strange recently, even before the honeymoon. You've been so distant, you're never home. You know what; it was stupid of me to think that this marriage could ever be anything more then a business deal. Maybe we should just keep it simple, just bury any feelings that might have been there. We're married because we have to be and that's all" she said coldly.  
He faltered for a second.

"Brooke you're not serious? You could really do that, bury your feelings. Because I know I couldn't. You're perfect, you're everything. Why would I ever want to cheat on you?" Lucas asked honestly, voicing the feelings that had grown greatly over the last week or so. He reached out and took her hand cautiously, running his thumb over her skin gently. She felt her resolve crumble. A tear slowly made its way down her cheek.

"Why have you been shutting me out? What were you doing in that club with that woman?" She asked letting her guard down, she was tired of fighting.

"Holly Jane is the business deal." He admitted quietly.  
Brooke didn't want to scream anymore but what kind of answer was that? She turned around and started walking away; she walked only a couple of steps before she stopped again. She turned halfway to face Luke.  
"I'm pregnant." She whispered before turning around and walking back to the door. Even though she whispered Luke heard her and caught up to her before she made it to Haley.  
"You're pregnant?" He was completely staggered.  
Brooke nodded slightly. "I found out first day we were in Madrid."  
Luke went to say something but hearing Brooke's words stopped.

"Madrid? You knew the whole time we were away?" He was the one sounding angry now. Brooke nodded.  
"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your husband. I have a right to know!"  
"You're my husband? Really you could have fooled me! You've been acting more like a distant roommate! Besides you were on the phone with _Holly _half the time!!" Brooke began frantically searching through the pockets in her hoodie, desperate to get away from all this, from him. Where were the damn keys!?  
Realising she was trying to bail on him Luke reached into her jean pocket and retrieved the elusive bulging car keys.

"You're coming home with me."  
"Like hell I am. I'm not going anywhere until you give me some answers. Proper answers not just a half assed explanation. It's the least I deserve. Don't you think?" Brooke was going to be stubborn this time.  
Luke leaned in. "You seriously don't want me make you get in the car. Cause it won't be pretty."  
Brooke glared at him and then turned around and waved a goodbye to Haley who was standing in the doorway. She could see Haley's worried scowl.

.:.:.:.:.

The entire car ride home was silent. Luke didn't even have the stereo on. When they pulled up he grabbed Brooke's hand as he led her to the elevator.  
"What are you doing?" She hissed once the steel doors were shut. "You are not going to control me like a puppet." He ignored her dragging her inside.

When they walked through the doors Lily was sitting on the armchair, in her school uniform waiting to see if they returned home before she had to leave. One look at her brother and Brooke's face and she could tell it hadn't gone well.  
"What's wrong?" Lily asked Brooke quietly. She had heard Luke's rushed side of the story while he tried to find Brooke but she wanted to hear her friend's side of it.  
"That's what I'd like to know. Apparently he isn't cheating on me, but Holly Jane was his business deal. He spent half the time in Madrid on the phone about his business deal…somehow I just can't quite believe you" Brooke glared in Luke's direction. Lily hadn't heard that.  
"Lucas Eugene!" She exclaimed turning on him. "Holly Jane is just an expensive sl…" Her words were drowned out by Brooke who didn't want to hear anything about it.  
"I also told him I'm pregnant." Lily turned back around to Brooke.  
"What! That's great, isn't it?" Lily smiled, and then stopped.  
"She's known since Madrid and decided toady it was about time I should know." Lucas said laughing harshly.  
Seeing they were still in mid argument and knowing her brothers temper all too well Lily decided to get out of the firing line while she could.  
"Well I've gotta get to school, so I'll see you this afternoon if you haven't already killed each other." She muttered as she picked up her bag and took off out the apartment hastily.

.:.:.:.:.

The calls abusing Lucas started around eight thirty. Karen called; Dan called; Nathan called; Haley called twice; Keith called; Skills called. He spent most of the afternoon/evening being shouted at whilst desperately trying to explain himself and prove his innocence; Brooke sat on the couch watching him in amusement. That's what happens when you kept secrets and as far as she was concerned he was getting everything he deserved.  
When the calls finally ended Brooke started on him.  
"So do you want to tell me about the _business_ deal now?" Brooke asked gently, emotionally exhausted by the days events.  
Luke sighed, reluctant.

"Lucas I'm carrying your baby, you have to let me in" she said leaning forward close into him.  
He swallowed and let out a breath he had been holding as he revelled in the touch of her,  
"I've been writing a second book. The publisher's have offered me millions for it." He said feeling tension melt out of his body as he spoke to her about the one thing that had been hanging over him for over a month now.  
"That's great Luke." Brooke smiled for a second. "But I still don't see what this has to do with the club slut?" she asked confused.  
"The main character is based on Holly Jane and there's some stuff in it that she might not…appreciate, so I need her to sign a waiver. Those photos are me negotiating with her."  
Brooke was ready to be mad at him again. Why couldn't he have just told her that in the beginning? But she couldn't do it. This money would let them be right without Dan and Karen. Although the whole situation was majorly messed up, deep down his intentions were good. She leaned over and wrapped him up in a hug.

"I'm just so sick of my father having so much control over me. I knew if I could just get this deal sorted then we would be free. I'm sorry I lied. I'm sorry I made you doubt me, doubt what we're becoming. That's the last thing I'd want, especially now what with the baby." She had never really heard him apologise before and it sounded good. He let out another deep breath and a small smile formed on his face.

"We're gonna be parents… for what its worth I think you're gonna be an amazing mom" he said sinking back into the couch next to her.  
She rested her head on his shoulder and started crying.  
"Hey what's wrong?" he asked turning his head to look at her, hearing her laboured breaths.  
"Hormones".


	17. You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side

**My internet was disconnected as we moved house and as a result I had to wait forever to update. Thankfully, now I can. Enjoy the chapter and as always don't forget to review )**

It wasn't meant to happen this way. It wasn't meant to happen this way. It wasn't meant to happen this way…  
It was the only thought running through Brooke's head as she stared at the looming wall of magazines in front of her. Taking a shaky breath she could feel herself breaking out into a cold sweat; she wanted to cry.  
It wasn't meant to happen this way.

Two weeks. That's how long Brooke and Lucas managed to keep the pregnancy quiet. A fleeting fortnight that had disappeared before her eyes. They hadn't told Brooke's parents yet. They hadn't even told Dan or Karen. But it didn't matter anymore because now she was pretty sure they knew; the whole of America knew now.

The offending photograph plastered across the cover of the magazines was one of her and Luke coming out of a clinic. She could tell it had been just after their first ultrasound because Luke was grinning and she was wearing her favourite skirt. Precariously she took a magazine off the shelf; glancing around to make sure nobody recognised her she skimmed through the article; her eyes dancing across the words. A nurse had leaked their story.

She was brought back to reality when her phone started buzzing loudly.  
"Hello?" She answered distracted not bothering to look at the caller ID.  
"Brooke?" It was Lily. And she was whispering.  
"What's wrong Lil?" Brooke asked her mind clearing.  
"You need to come home now." Lily said urgently.  
"What's going on? Why are you whispering?" She asked her sister in law even more anxious at sound of Lily's desperate tone.  
"World war three is about to kick off. Please, you need to hurry." Lily begged.  
This was bad. Over the months Brooke had come to realise that Lily was the calm collected one of the family; the silent observer. What ever was going on back home was serious. Scared over what had reliable Lily sounding so worried she turned her back on the magazines staring up at her and headed home to confront the mayhem that lay waiting.

As she weaved her way through the throng of tourists milling around the streets of New York trying to remain incognito a million scenarios rushed through her head. What was going on her beautiful fifth avenue apartment that was so desperate? Flashbacks of the magazine images swam in and out of her brain; she had a strong feeling that today's hot gossip was the cause of the major meltdown at Scott HQ. Regaining focus, she had to stop herself from pushing through the tour groups as her apartment building loomed into view. Operation damage control here she came.

She could hear it as soon as the elevator stopped on the 10th floor. Luke's voice resonated clear as anything; yelling something about his privacy; her privacy. There was another voice. A voice that sent chills down her spine. Dan's Scott, this couldn't be good. He was yelling something about family, and his favourite topic, as always, publicity.  
Then Nathan's voice surfaced, on Lucas's side.  
Geeze! She thought. How many people were in her apartment? Was it the whole Scott Family? Because at this point it sounded likely and if Nathan and Dan were fighting then there was a high possibility of this ending up in a lock up.  
Hovering outside her front door, she entertained the thought of disappearing before anyone knew she was there but before she could put her plan into action, Lily appeared in front of her.  
"Don't you even dare" She threatened, recognising the look in Brooke's eyes.  
"It's so tempting right now" Brooke replied honestly.  
"Lucas is in there being torn apart by Dan all for you. You need to go in. You need to be there for him" Lily said sounding a whole lot older then her 16 years.  
She sighed grudgingly; knowing what Lily was saying was true she followed her inside.

The whole family was indeed there; including Peyton and Leon. Who, relishing in the fact the heat was on someone else for once, enjoyed the show from the sideline. Lucas was sat on the couch his hand rubbing his furrowed brow. He looked exhausted. Brooke was hit by a jolt of guilt, how could she have even considered abandoning him? One thing was clear; he was in way over his head. He was being attacked from every angle. Dan and Karen were laying into him like a tag team, Peyton was adding the occasional dig when ever she felt necessary and although Nathan was doing his best to defend Lucas he was actually aggravating the situation. Lucas looked up sharply hearing the door click shut.  
"They know." Lucas whispered towards Brooke when she appeared.  
Brooke leaned back against the closed door subconsciously not wanting to walk into the tension filled room. She smiled across at him; loving how she could now read his mood as soon as she walked into a room. How he was open with her and only her. How she could see his heart so clearly when he guarded it so closely around others "I guessed." A small reassuring smile gracing her cherry red lips.

"I'm glad you two think this is funny. Putting aside the fact that your own family had to find out about this…this debacle from my publicist, do you really have any idea of the seriousness of this situation? A baby is forever. You haven't got a clue what it takes to raise a child…you can barely look after yourself let alone… " Dan Scott asked standing in between the two.

"Come on dad. Don't you think it's a bit late for the 'you're too young for serious commitment' talk?! It was a different story when you were arranging our wedding, planning our lives together wasn't it?" Lucas said standing from his seat and walking towards the kitchen counter in despair. This had been going on for around half an hour now. If there was one thing Dan Scott was a pro at it was lecturing his children. He had got it down to a fine art over the years.

"Marriage doesn't _have_ to be permanent. Do you really think we expected you stay with _her_ forever?"

"Dad! God are you really that heartless?" Nathan asked stepping in attempting to defend Brooke.

"The girl has a purpose, to save this family's reputation. You knew that…this baby is not part of the plan!" Dan scoffed. Looking from his son then Brooke in disgust.

"The 'girl' has a name dad! Now we've summarised how little you care about my happiness _and _insulted my wife. It's great to know how little faith you really have in me" Lucas spat shaking his head in disbelief. Seeing her chance his mother jumped in attempting to salvage the situation.

"Lucas, you need to realise everything your father does is for you, for this family. Now I understand this is a difficult situation but you have to think about this rationally. We all know what you're like Lucas. You're fickle and sure you two seem happy now but you'd be the fist to admit you have a wandering eye. You've given up on everything you've ever started…" His mother said gently, reaching out to him.

"Seriously Ma? You too? Why don't you stop sugar coating it and tell me what you really mean?" Lucas asked shying away from her open hand and edging across the room towards where Brooke still stood silent against the wall.

"What your mother's trying to say is you need to get this sorted. If you took a little time to think about this you would realise it's best for everyone. I know a great doctor just outside the city he'll respect our privacy…you're not ready for a child Lucas" Dan said matter of factly.

"Stop" Brookes voice rang through the large apartment the high ceilings causing her voice to echo.

"Brooke honey…" Karen started as if suddenly remembering Brooke was still in the room.

"No. Don't. You've said enough. All of you. Who are you to tell us we're not ready for this? Not exactly winning any awards for father of the year are ya Dan? You've turned your back on all your children at one time or another…" she spoke clearly pushing herself of the wall.

"Brooke…" Lucas said catching her eye, warning her she was treading on dangerous ground.

"No Lucas. I'm sick of this! I've listened to you all fuss and fight for almost an hour and I think it's about time I had my say. This is _my _baby. And there is no way your taking it away from me. This baby _will _be born and whether Lucas and I stay together til the day we die or whether we break up next week, we are going to make sure it has the best life. We are going to love it _so_ much and so will all of you. You just don't know it yet."

Lucas turned his head to look at the girl standing next to him. She was so strong, determined. Not a shadow of doubt evident on her being. Meeting his eyes she gave him a small definite nod. He smiled his heart brimming with pride and took her soft hand in his. Only then did he realise she was shaking.

"I think its time you all left my home" She said making eye contact with Dan Scott.

"Oh and one more thing Dan, this is my baby. This is my family. If any one of your magazines prints anything about this pregnancy without my approval, I will sue you. I'm guessing that wouldn't exactly bring your company the right type of publicity. You don't get to touch my baby with that bullshit" she said with fiery eyes her temper rising.

Without another word Dan stormed out of the apartment leaving Karen to trail after him.  
They all looked at Brooke stunned. None of them could believe that the shy girl they had met only months ago had the courage to stand up to Dan.  
Once it was clear that the fun was over Peyton and Leon quickly and quietly slipped out; Brooke had made it known to them that she didn't want them in her home.

"Call us if you need anything. We truly mean that" Haley said giving Brooke a comforting smile. Brooke nodded thanking them as Haley herded Nathan out once the building was clear of Dan; Nathan still worked up. Sensing that Luke and Brooke wanted to speak Lily disappeared into her bedroom.

Once they were alone Brooke fell into Luke and he wrapped his arms securely around her, kissing the top of her head.  
"It wasn't meant to happen this way." It had become her mantra for the day.  
"I know."  
"My parents. Katie." Her family in North Carolina popped into her mind suddenly. She started sobbing into his shirt. She didn't want them finding out this way.  
"I know pretty girl." Luke kissed her again. "We'll fix it though."

She sat on their bed a cup of hot chocolate in her hand her eyes fixated on the phone. She could hear Lucas in the kitchen pottering around clearly trying to give her space to call her parents. She'd been staring at the handset on the coffee table for 10 minutes when Lucas' form appeared at the bedroom door.

"Hey did you speak to your parents?" he asked flopping down next to her, propping himself up on his elbow. She shook her head a little ashamed.

"I couldn't do it" She said looking up at him.

"Come on it couldn't be any worse than telling my family could it?" He asked joking.

"It's not that. I just… I don't really feel like they're my family anymore. It's not the same since they sent me here. I'm just not sure I can make them a part of my life after they turned their backs on me so easily. I'm going through _so_ much and they haven't got a clue, for all they know I could be struggling, miserable, hating my life. It just feels like they expect me to forgive them and get on with everything and I'm not sure I can." She said sighing feeling a massive weight lifting off her shoulders unloading her problems on to someone else.

Lucas leant across and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're not miserable are you?" He asked running his hand across her cheek lovingly.

She exhaled letting the tension of the day drift out of her as his skin connected with hers. God just being next to him gave her goose bumps. How did she get here? Lying on a queen size mahogany bed in her very own swanky New York apartment next to a man she didn't even know last year; her husband, the father of her child.

"No. I'm not. It's just its hard, you know? Life is hard and I just miss the way it used to be. Everything was so simple. I could just do with some support you know?" she answered staring into his lively eyes.

"You have me. You'll always have me. I mean it Brooke. I know everything's crazy right now, but its going to be ok. I just know it." He said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked burying her head into his broad strong chest, breathing in his musky scent.

"You realize we didn't even consider an abortion before my parents found out? I mean it would have been a perfectly normal reaction to this less than normal situation. But neither one of us mentioned it, I can honestly say it didn't even cross my mind. I can't say why that is for sure, but it gives me faith. It's like we both knew this was meant to be. I know we can do this. You were so amazing today Brooke. You fought for us, for our baby, for our family. We can do this Brooke. Just me and you" he said savoring the feel of her steady heart beating next to him.

"Just me and you" she repeated smiling as she felt his hand smoothly move across her still flat stomach.


	18. Let The Reigns Go Loose

"_Just me and you," She repeated smiling as she felt his hand smoothly move across her still flat stomach._

It was February 20 and Brooke was beginning to feel stressed and irritable. Lucas's birthday was in three days and keeping with tradition he had told her at the beginning of the month that he would be celebrating his twenty second birthday with Peyton and their friends in one of the hottest nightclubs in the city, Now, it was Brooke who was finalising and confirming all the details; and on top of that her stomach had started to swell and the nausea; instead of easing just continued.  
"Hello Beautiful." Luke smiled widely walking into his office where Brooke had been all day making phone calls. He was carrying a bouquet of her favourite flowers.  
Brooke gave him a wide smile. Hopefully having him there would ease some of the stress she'd been feeling.  
"Luke." She smiled as he came over to her side of the desk to kiss her. "You've come to help me?" She asked hopefully.  
Luke laughed and gave her the piece of paper he had been holding in his free hand.  
"I'm afraid not." He apologised kissing the side of her head quickly. "I need to go out for another meeting."  
Brooke's eyes glanced over the piece of paper that he had placed down in front of her. It was a list of names. Panicking; she grabbed his wrist so he couldn't make an escape.  
"What is this?" She demanded.  
"The finalised guest list for the security." He said it innocently. Brooke looked at the names. _Her; Nathan; Haley; Lily; Leon; Skills; Tim…_ she had been expecting those names but then there was the names of both Peyton's and Luke's friends that had Brooke worried. _Holly Jane; Jasmine; Chelsea… _The names filled up both sides of the paper and half the names were girls that Luke had been previously involved with.  
"You have to be kidding me." Her hormones were starting to take control. "These are all your ex-girlfriends."  
"_Ex." _Luke emphasised. He knew this would be a problem. "You're my wife. You're the only one I love now." He promised. He kissed her lips silencing the next argument before it could form. "Now; I have to go to meet my agent so this book can be released in the next couple of months. Are you sure you're okay if I go?" Brooke nodded, calming down a bit. Lily would be home any minute and then they'd go out and forget about the party.

When Lily got home and saw Brooke stressing over the party she knew exactly what to do. She took her sister-in-law to a movie and then out to dinner. When they got home afterwards; all thoughts of the party at the back of her head it was late and she had a message from Luke on her phone saying that he would be home later than thought and that she shouldn't wait up for him.  
When Lily disappeared into her room half an hour later to get a good night sleep for school, Brooke tried to clean the living room hoping Luke would be home soon. At eleven o'clock though fatigue was engulfing her and she surrendered to the comfort of her bed. The next time she opened her eyes it was because Luke was walking across the darkened room moving from the dresser to his side of the bed.  
"Luke?" She mumbled half asleep. "What time is it?" She tried to sit up so she could focus on the clock.  
"Hey Brooke I'm right here. Go back to sleep babe. It's late." He climbed into bed next to her and pulled her close into him. Breathing in; she inhaled the lingering scent of alcohol. Too tired to say anything about it though she closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.

.:.:.:.:.

Brooke sat in front of her dresser wrapped up in her dressing gown staring blankly at her reflection in the mirror. Behind her Luke was sitting on the bed, dressed ready for the part sitting next to the dress she was meant to be currently wearing.  
"Brooke." He said slowly, calmly, "what's wrong baby?" He loved her so much but her hormones and constant mood swings were testing his patience.  
"I'm not going. I'm going to stay here and finish the plans for the nursery."  
Luke laughed; he couldn't help it. "Don't be ridiculous babe. It's my birthday. Don't you want to celebrate my birthday."  
"This baby is coming Lucas and at this rate it won't have a room."  
"Brooke you're over reacting." He walked over to the dresser and stood next to her. "Now, please put on the dress and come out with me tonight."  
For a minute Brooke was going to resist again but then she saw the look in Luke's eyes and decided against it. Maybe she was overreacting.

An hour later; sitting at a table in the nightclub with Haley and Lily, watching Luke dance with his friends, she knew she hadn't been over reacting earlier. She had been so lovingly told by Lily that girl he had been dancing with for the last twenty minutes was Chelsea Worthington; Peyton's friend. The one Luke promised he had no history with. Though; the closer they got to each other the angrier Brooke got. When Luke's hand wrapped themselves around Chelsea's neck though Brooke lost it. She pushed herself back off the table and headed to the dance floor.  
The song ended just as she reached Luke and Chelsea and she smiled innocently. Luke who had already had a couple of drinks smiled widely and moved his hands away from Chelsea to Brooke.  
"My beautiful wife." He kissed the side of her neck as the dancing started up again. "Are you going to dance with me?"  
"Of course I am." She smiled. She saw Chelsea stalk off and join Peyton who was sitting at the edge of the dance floor. Leon wasn't with them and she guessed he had been at the bar all night. "Are you having fun."  
"It's so much more fun now that you're here."

The party went well into the early hours of the morning and when it finally finished most of the guests stumbled into the hotel next door where they all had rooms. Brooke, Lily and Lucas were the last ones in the club; Lucas slumped over a table unconscious. Brooke managed to find his keys and then with the help of Lily got him to the car and then up to the apartment.  
Once they were in the living room with the front door locked Lily disappeared into her room. She wasn't going to deal with an unconscious brother when it was three in the morning. Brooke managed to get Luke into their bedroom where she let him drop onto the bed.  
"You're so beautiful." The words were a whisper out of his mouth, which she almost missed as she walked around to her side of the bed. "Thankyou for tonight. I love you so much pretty girl." Brooke smiled as she climbed under the covers and fell asleep. She had almost forgotten completely about Chelsea.

**A/N: I had realised it had been a month since I last updated. Mostly because everything's been so stressful lately. I've just finished school and with graduation in a fortnight and exams starting today I haven't had a chance to write anything.  
I've also had really bad writer's block so I don't know if this chapter is as good as the others. As always tell me what you think and I promise the next update won't take me a month.**

**--Casey xXx**


	19. Choosing My Own Way Of Life

The party had been Saturday night

The party had been Saturday night. She and Lucas never discussed what had happened that night; Chelsea's name didn't appear once. Brooke knew however that couldn't last, do by Monday morning she was prepared. Prepared for whatever the magazines had plastered over their front pages.

Six thirty am. That was the time the first call came in; they couldn't even give her the sleep she'd been desperately wishing for. Luke who was still asleep next to her groaned quietly as the incessant ringing continued.  
"I think it's for you." Brooke mumbled, her red lips moving over his bare chest. Luke grumbled something under his breath that Brooke didn't understand, but picked up the phone next to him anyway.  
"Morning, what's so important you had to wake us up?" He yawned loudly to emphasise his point. As the reply came, Brooke flinched as she heard the sound of Dan shouting through the receiver. It lasted for at least ten minutes and in that time Luke said nothing. When he finally stopped, Luke calmly placed the receiver down and closed his eyes again. He had moved out of the family home to get away from his father, not so he could get woken by abusive phone calls every week at the crack of dawn when his face appeared in a magazine.  
"My father wants to see us in his office at eight." Luke barely whispered as he envisioned the nightmare to come. Brooke groaned and sat up so she could see Luke's face easier.  
"Are you sure he wants both of us? Wouldn't it be safer if I was kept out of this? Think about the stress it would put on the baby and me." She was only half-joking.  
Luke opened his eyes to look straight into her green ones which were bright and shimmering as she taunted him.  
"You're coming." It was a demand, and came out slightly harsher than Luke intended it to. Brooke let it go, knowing how cruel it was to leave Luke to defend himself.

Brooke had never once been to the Scott Enterprises buildings before so when Luke pulled his car into the free space next to his father's she had to take a deep breath. She wasn't prepared for this. Facing Dan at home was the one thing; but at his work place? The building itself was huge and the thought of Dan Scott waiting for them on the top floor was intimidating.  
"It'll be okay." Luke said, answering all her unspoken fears and taking her hand in his; squeezing it lightly. "I'll protect you."  
Brooke smiled and leant over to kiss him before they climbed out of the car.

"Mr. Scott, it's been a long time since we've seen you in here." The guard behind the front desk in the large, light foyer stood up with a grin on his face. "Shift's aren't nearly as entertaining as before." Luke matched the guards grin as he remembered the days that weren't all that long ago when he had come in the morning drunk, after spending the night at some nightclub with a girl, just to piss off Dan.  
"I'm here to see him." Was all Luke said; now was not the time to remember what Brooke wanted to forget.  
"He's expecting you." The guard's eyes momentarily fluttered over to Brooke. He knew she was his wife but he was still surprised. This girl was everything Luke had not been in the past. "I haven't seen him this worked up in a while."  
Brooke smiled back; obviously Dan had avoided the office after he found out about the pregnancy.

The elevator ride up to the top floor was long and excruciating. People got in, saw their companions and got off again; nobody, especially those that worked at Scott Enterprises, wanted to get involved with the Scott Family.  
When the doors opened on the top floor they entered a small reception area. Ignoring the receptionist just to the side of Dan's office doors, Luke opened the doors himself and walked straight in. Dan was behind his desk; waiting for them. Several magazines spread out on the desk; Brooke wondered to herself how long he had been here already.

"Good morning." Luke said his tone slightly cocky. "You wanted to see us?" He was smiling. Dan was not.  
"This is not a joke." He growled. "Sit."  
As Brooke obediently sat, her eyes wondered over to the magazines in front of Dan. It was a mistake. She didn't want to see those photos, see the accusations magazines were making.  
Dan threw one of said magazine at them. Luke who still had her hand gave it another comforting squeeze.  
"How could you Lucas?" Dan shouted. "You just keep putting everything at risk. Its actions like these that jeopardise this company's contracts. No one wants to deal with people like this." He jabbed his finger at the cover. Brooke turned her head away from the desk; she didn't want to see her husband dancing like he was with Chelsea. She could remember it perfectly enough.

"_Scott Marriage over all ready?_" Dan read a headline out loud. "Four months Lucas. Four months was all you could manage for your family?"  
"The marriage isn't over." Lucas was furious his father could ever consider this. "It's anything but over, we're going to have a child. If this is all so troubling for you to accept then maybe you're no longer a part of my family."  
Dan scoffed. "You can't turn your back on this."  
"Brooke is my family. You don't get that. I would not do anything to hurt her."  
Dan made a point of looking at the cover.  
"We're leaving." Brooke was up before the words could completely leave Luke's mouth. They had been in the office for only five minutes and for Brooke that was too long.

On the way back to the apartment Brooke made Luke stop at a newsagency. He grabbed hold of her hands before she could climb out. "Don't do this to yourself." He begged her. "We both know they're just lies."  
"I know." Brooke promised, but it didn't stop her from buying the magazines.

Luke sat opposite of Brooke in the living room as she read through the offending articles. Seeing photos of Luke that close to Chelsea and old photos of them together, reading articles on how they used to date and were regulars at nightclubs made Brooke feel horrible.  
"Are you happy now?" Luke asked as Brooke put down the last magazine. "They only made you upset."  
"You never said you dated her." She wiped her eyes which were threatening to overflow with tears while she recalled the conversation they had on their wedding day.  
"I never said I didn't." Luke corrected moving seats so he could pull Brooke in close to comfort her. "All I said was she wanted something that wasn't there. I haven't seen Chelsea like that in ages. I couldn't with you around me all the time."  
Brooke laughed softly, she had been letting her emotions and hormones rule her the last couple of weeks.  
Luke kissed her once again and then a couple of minutes later disappeared into his office. That was fine with Brooke because as soon as he left she went into the third bedroom that was going to be turned into a nursery. She closed the door behind her and looked around. The place was still full of Lucas's junk which was meant to be moving down to storage. As she tried to pictured what her plans would look like she slid against the wall to sit on the floor. She pushed her hair back off her face and it was then she made her promise. No matter what happened, she would be there for her baby. She would not let herself and Lucas become his parents.

.:.:.:.:.:.

The doctor's appointment was scheduled for two days later. She had kept it a secret from Lily and Haley not wanting to cause any mass excitement. She and Luke had done a lot of talking and they had finally decided that as she started her fifth month of pregnancy they should find out the sex of their baby; something that they could base all of their plans for the nursery around.

As soon as they entered the reception, they were whisked away to the office. This time Lucas had made all the staff sign confidentiality agreements. They were not going to have a repeat of last time when the staff had leaked to the magazines.

As Brooke was lying on the bed staring at the screen she was overcome by emotion again. It wasn't the first time she had been to an ultrasound but every time it made her cry. Once the doctor ascertained that the baby was completely healthy he started packing away.  
"You two have a very healthy baby girl on the way." He promised them when he could see that they were growing impatient waiting for him to finish.

**And as always, don't forget to review. It will make me feel so much better and will make me write faster… I promise.**

**Casey xXx**


	20. Hanging By A Moment

The dimly lit restaurant brought back a lot of painful memories for Brooke. It was only nine months ago when Lucas was proposing to her with the designer ring and well rehearsed speech; when their true feelings for each other were still buried.  
She absent-mindedly played with her engagement ring as Luke gave their orders to the waiter and the turned to smile at her.  
It was her twentieth birthday, and she hoped the day would be a happier affair than their last visit here.

"Just dinner?" Brooke repeated the question for the hundredth time that day. Generally, she would be okay with a party but was terrified that he had planned something elaborate and over the top, and at the moment, while she was pregnant, that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

"Just dinner." He promised sincerely.

At the end of the night the two wound up wandering around Central Park, gravitating away from the busy restaurant in favour of some quiet time together. Lucas had given her a diamond heart necklace and had whispered sweet nothings into her ear. By the time they arrived back to the apartment she was ready to fall straight into bed with her man right next to her.

When the next morning arrived, all of Brooke's feelings of beauty and gorgeousness had dissipated. Day by day, as her sixth month grew closer, Brooke's stomach swelled from the growing baby girl inside her. The brunette was sore all over, and all she wanted was for the baby to come out so her body could return to its previous size.  
Once she was out of bed and looking for Lucas, though, that last feeling changed. Brooke found her husband working in the nursery, which had yet to be completed.

Lucas had finished moving all of his junk from the room to storage a couple of days ago, and he was now putting the last coat of a pale pink paint on the walls.

"What are you doing in here?" Luke growled slightly, jumping off the stepladder as soon as he noticed her lurking in the doorway. "Out." He had been wary of letting Brooke anywhere near the nursery since Haley's warnings about the effects of paint fumes on expectant mothers.

Luke sat her down on the couch with a cup of tea and some dry toast before he scurried off to finish painting the nursery.  
On the glass coffee table in front of Brooke there were two catalogues; one offered baby clothes and the other sold baby furniture. She grabbed the former and started flicking through it, ready to fill the drawers. Only a couple of pages in though, she became uninterested. Sure the clothes were nice, but the garments were created by some fancy designer, and most of the clothing seemed too extreme for an infant.

Sneaking into Luke's office, she sunk down into the chair before hunting for some blank paper and a pencil. Before she had moved to New York, when she was still in school, she had dreamt of becoming a fashion designer. As she started sketching, she knew she didn't want to be some huge designer (at least not yet), but rather just wanted to be able to make some nice, original clothing for her baby girl.

When Lucas entered the room twenty minutes later, he found her bent over his desk in deep concentration. He stood by the door, silently watching her for a moment. Her raven hair, which was naturally wavy, fell long past her shoulders, and concealed half her face. That didn't distract him, however, from noticing the momentary change of expression that crossed her face every time the baby kicked. She still hadn't gotten used the baby's strength.

"What are you doing in here?" He broke the silence, walking around the desk to stand next to her. He noticed that she had started to design an outfit for the baby.

"She needs something unique." Brooke explained, "And it will keep me occupied." She flashed him a wide smile. Gently adding, "Since you won't let me do anything else."

He matched her smile with a warm, comforting smile of his own. "Humour me," he mumbled kissing the top of her head.

When Lily arrived home from school later that afternoon, she found her sister-in-law back on the couch and Luke adding some final touches of paint to the nursery. Lily dumped her bag in her room, changed out of her uniform, and then joined Brooke on the couch.

"Watcha doing?" Lily blurted out, excitement evident in her voice.

Brooke looked up and smiled. "Spending all of your brother's money," she joked, exaggerating. She was in the process of ordering furniture from the catalogue, and she was having fun doing it. Brooke looked up again at Lily, noticing that she was more excitable than normal. When her lips parted, getting ready to question the younger girl on it, the doorbell rang. Lily jumped up, almost tripping over her own feet as she raced to the door.  
As she disappeared from view, Brooke put the catalogue down and raised one perfectly shaped eye brow. _This could be interesting, _she thought to herself.

Sure enough, a minute later Lily was back in the room, albeit momentarily, leading a young man through. "Whoa, hold up a sec." Brooke spoke, earning a subtle glare from Lily. "Sit down," she offered pointing to the other couch. Lily shook her head; Brooke just wanted to tease her.

"I was just going to take Rhys through to my room." She spoke confidently. "You know, so you can rest."

"I don't need to…," Brooke started to protest. Why did everyone want her to only rest? However, before Brooke could correct the youngest Scott, Lily had already led Rhys away. This was extremely rebellious and out of character for Lily, and Brooke didn't think it was a great idea. She walked to the nursery just as Luke was putting the lid back on the paint.  
"Lily has a boy in her room."

Luke looked up surprised, but then smiled slyly. Brooke was disappointed; she was hoping for a better reaction than that. "Let her be." He replied. "She won't do anything while she knows I keep a gun in the house." He said it nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal, and for a second it didn't register with Brooke.

"You have a gun in here?" She questioned, her voice raising an octave. "Are you nuts?" She whirled around and raced into his office, him close on her heels.

"Brooke, you should really be resting."

"I've had enough of everybody telling me to rest." She was still shouting. "I'm pregnant; not an invalid!"

The hysterical brunette began pulling all the drawers out of the desk, and she rifled through everything. The bottom left hand drawer was locked. She stopped suddenly and looked up at him. "You keep a gun in this house?" Her voice was now quiet, almost a whisper, yet still laced with panic.  
"Brooke." He knelt down next to her, running a hand down her back in an effort to soothe her.

"I'm not about to do anything irrational or dangerous," he calmly stated. "It's just for security."

"We're about to have a baby; Jamie's always here…"

"Which is why the drawer is locked; you don't need to worry about it," he comforted her. It didn't really work, but for the mean time, she left it alone.

Brooke tried distracting herself by going back to the catalogues. When that didn't work, she moved into the kitchen to begin cooking dinner. Cooking managed to distract her for a little while, as it always could, but soon enough, her mind wandered back to what she had just found out.

"You must be Brooke," an unfamiliar voice stated, startling her slightly. Apparently, her cooking could also lure out Lily's visitors. "I'm Rhys."

Lily appeared behind him, her face begging Brooke to be nice, which was new for Lily.

"Nice to meet you Rhys; I'm Brooke." Of course she would play nice.

"Lily has said so many good things about you." Brooke smiled cheekily in Lily's direction after the comment.  
"She has, has she? Would you like to stay for dinner Rhys, meet Lily's brother?" Rhys nodded in answer to the question, and joined her in the kitchen to help. Brooke was going to have fun with this.

When Luke appeared in the kitchen just before dinner was served, he was a little surprised to find Lily's apparent boy-friend still there, but he was graceful about it. He noticed that while Brooke was panicking about it earlier, she now appeared relaxed and her normal, friendly self. Meanwhile, Lily was perched on a counter stool, glaring at Brooke and the hidden intentions she knew the older brunette was harbouring.


	21. We Three My Echo, My Shadow and Me

**A/N: Okay, so I'm halfway through my final exams (TEE) at the moment so writing has been kind of hard to do. I have two exams left and so I'm using my English exam as an excuse to do some writing =)  
Don't forget to review, it will make me feel so much better when I'm forced to study.  
Also thank you to my new beta Kelsey (ReadTheLyric09) for her great work.**

**-- Casey xXx**

It was the middle of the night when Brooke jolted awake. It was the middle of June and the heat was quickly making life uncomfortable and unbearable. She turned her head to smile at Luke's still, sleeping form. She didn't want to wake him just yet, especially when he looked so cute, so she managed to silently climb out of bed without any real difficulty.

Navigating her way through the dark she succeeded in finding her way to the nursery without knocking into anything. Closing the door and turning on the light, she looked around at the fully finished nursery. The furniture had been delivered and so kindly moved into the room from the ground floor by Luke, Skills and Tim. The dresser was full of clothes and nappies waiting to be used; the two outfits that Brooke made herself were also among them. The numerous nursery books and teddy bears that were gifts from her friends in New York and North Carolina were covering the shelves.

She had not noticed that Luke had woken up and stood behind her until his hands ran up and down her bare arms.  
"Couldn't you sleep?" He whispered kissing her shoulder. Not wanting to move just yet, she only nodded in agreement.  
"It's beautiful." She remarked, talking about the nursery, proud at what they'd managed to do mostly by themselves. They stood there for a couple more minutes in silence as Brooke's emerald eyes continued to take everything in. Then he gently took her hand into his.  
"Come back to bed with me." He led her. "You need to get some sleep." She actually started to follow, but her face eventually gave everything away. She ended up dropping his hand, the pain in her lower back becoming unbearable.  
"Brooke, what's wrong?" He was at her side in seconds, stroking her back.  
"It's a contraction." Her voice was quiet but Luke heard every word with an amazing clarity. For a second he stood stunned, but then he was all action. As he grabbed her hospital bag, he raced into Lily's room to wake her up, and even though she was irritable and lethargic, she managed to help Brooke to Luke's car.

The twenty minute ride to the hospital was the longest ride Brooke had ever taken in his car. She knew she was still in the early stages of labour and the baby wouldn't come for hours and hours yet, but Luke wasn't listening to that; he was trying to race while keeping the speed limit.  
When they finally arrived a nurse helped them to their private room and helped Brooke get comfortable in her bed. Lily had called Haley and Nathan on the way to the hospital and even though Nathan voiced his dislike over the baby choosing a ridiculous hour of the night to be born, they were on the way. Everyone had to promise to keep it a secret from the remaining Scott's, though. Brooke didn't want to intentionally cut off half of her husband's family, but the last thing she wanted while in labour was for Peyton and Dan to be in the same room as everyone else.  
Luke climbed into the bed next to her as she closed her eyes again. She tried so hard to drift back off to sleep, but every time she almost succeeded, the baby interrupted.

By seven in the morning, Brooke was in tears. Haley and Lucas were sitting on either side of her while Lily, Nathan, and Jamie stood next to them.  
"It hurts so much." She turned to face Luke, her emerald eyes glistening behind the swelling tears. Luke felt terrible, he had never felt so helpless before, and he knew that the worse was still to come.  
"I'm sorry." He smiled pushing her hair off her face, it was the only thing he could do to try and comfort her.

Nathan had to leave a little while later because Jamie was getting restless, not being able to play with his Aunt Brooke or Aunt Lily, but they promised to come back when it was over; and Brooke was already willing that time to come. She voiced that view the next time the doctor came into the room. Through the threats Brooke was making towards him, he just gently laughed and promised her it would be over soon enough.

It was late evening before Brooke was wheeled away for delivery with Lucas right next to her, leaving Haley and Lily in the room.  
By this point, Brooke's face was covered in a mix of sweat and tears. The bones in Luke's left hand were far beyond being crushed as he tried to keep her calm and happy.

"I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You." Brooke groaned as another wave of contractions came. "You're never touching me again." Luke smiled and pushed some hair back off her face again. Somehow, just somehow, he didn't believe her.

"One more push Mrs. Scott." The doctor eventually promised. As Brooke gave the last push, she screamed and crushed the bones in Luke's other hand. At last, her own scream was replaced by that of another. Brooke fell back into her pillow and closed her eyes, the tears caused by the events of the day still streaming freely down her face.  
"You have a beautiful baby girl." The nurse smiled cleaning up the baby and handing her over to Brooke. The tears, which were beginning to stop, threatened to overwhelm her again.

By the time Luke wheeled Brooke and their baby girl back into the room, Nathan and Jamie were back.  
"Baby." Jamie squealed jumping off Haley's lap and racing to Brooke's wheelchair, stopping abruptly before he knocked into her. "She's beautiful." He smiled at the tiny figure in Brooke's arms.  
"She is." Luke smiled taking her off Brooke so she could climb back into bed.  
"Do you have a name yet?" Lily asked moving so she could see her new niece properly.  
"Not yet." Luke said smiling softly down at his new born daughter, noticing that her eyes matched his own sapphire blue eyes.

Soon afterwards, everyone had to leave, leaving Brooke and Luke to talk, while the baby slept.  
"What are we going to name her?" Brooke couldn't tear her eyes away. All the names they had talked about in the last three or four months suddenly didn't seem right. Luke rummaged through Brooke's hospital bag, emerging with the book of baby name's he'd brought her.  
After that, it took them another three hours to settle on a name they both agreed upon. As Luke went out to call his and Brooke's parents to tell them the news first hand, Brooke stroked one finger softly over her daughter's small, pink arm.

"Savannah Grace Scott." She whispered, smiling.

The news headlines came rushing in early the next morning, not to Brooke and Luke's dismay. Once Dan had found out he had probably rushed to tell all the tabloids.  
_"Reports have emerged last night that former party boy Lucas Scott, heir to Scott Enterprises, has finally become a father, with wife Brooke last night giving birth to their first baby, a daughter. Mother and daughter are both doing well…"_

All day friends and family floated in and out. Savannah was cradled in Brooke's arms sleeping and feeding, unaware of the constant noise and attention surrounding her. She was also completely oblivious to the tension from her mother, who was waiting for Peyton, Dan and Karen to show up and make a scene.  
It never came. She got a phone call from Katie and some old friends, and later on even a tense call from her parents in the afternoon congratulating her, but no contact from her in-laws.

When Brooke and Savannah were discharged two days later they still hadn't heard from them. It was something Brooke feared to believe was too good to be true, and the longer it took, the potential of the meeting being much worse intensified.  
Returning home, Luke drove even slower than he did driving to the hospital to accommodate for Savannah in the back seat. Brooke had to admit, sitting next to her in the back seat while Lily drove shotgun, the baby carrier in the backseat didn't go with Luke's car, and while Luke told her it was fine, she knew the carrier would wind up in her previously seldom used car.

Luke fussed over Savannah the entire elevator ride to the top floor. While Brooke was left to carry the bags and carrier, he smiled and cooed at their daughter; as Luke opened the front door, all she wanted to do was collapse on the couch she was so tired, but a small group had formed in their living room to welcome them back. Skills, Tim, Nathan, Haley and Rhys, Lily's boyfriend, were all in attendance. Brooke smiled and took the opportunity to take her daughter back, letting the group surround her so everyone could see the baby.

It was later that night, when Savannah eventually fell asleep in her bassinette and Brooke sleeping on the couch, that Dan and Karen showed up.  
"What are you doing here?" Luke blocked the doorway.  
"We came to see you, Brooke and the baby." Karen was devastated that the fighting between father and son had grown so bad that she couldn't meet her granddaughter.  
"Are we allowed to meet Savannah?"  
Luke thought for a second and when Karen believed he was going to let them in, he shook his head.  
"Not when you wanted an abortion." The door slammed shut loudly, leaving a devastated Karen and an indifferent Dan Scott in the hallway.


	22. The Games That Play Us

"Why won't she stop?" Lily cried emerging from the comfort of her room at midnight in search of the deafening noise. She found Brooke and Lucas awake in the living room where they were trying their best to calm Savannah down. The last month had been long and tiring on the three of them, as it was whenever a baby arrived into a family. Many days had Lily gone to school only for Brooke and Lucas to get a call from the school's principal a couple of hours later informing them that she had once again fallen asleep during her World History class.  
"I'm sorry Lils." Brooke apologised as Luke paced the living room humming to the baby in his arms. They had tried feeding her, changing her, burping her, yet nothing was working.  
"You knew it was going to be like this." And, Lily did. She had known from the beginning she'd be giving up her nights, but now, with an English test that day at school, she was having trouble accepting it. She smiled sympathetically before going back into her room and covering her head with her pillow. She was going to get some sleep.

"What's wrong with her?" Brooke sighed as soon as Lily's bedroom door had closed again. She loved her daughter, really she did, but nothing was working, and they had tried everything.  
"I don't think anything's wrong with her." Luke continued pacing as he answered. Savannah's cries were beginning to weaken. He smiled softly, looking down at her face.  
"Look." He whispered, walking over to Brooke. "She's falling asleep." By the time he had reached Brooke, the crying had stopped, and she was sleeping.  
Brooke smiled, and before she could wake again, they gently placed her into the bassinette in their bedroom. As Brooke's head hit the pillow, her eyes started to droop, and she almost didn't realise that Luke had pulled her into him.  
"You're doing a great job." He whispered through his yawns as she finally gave into sleep.

The routine started again at four o'clock, and Brooke knew that was it. She was only allowed four hours sleep that night. She didn't know how he managed to do it, but as Brooke climbed out of bed and picked Savannah up for her feed, Luke merely rolled over, still fast asleep.

At seven am the smell of bacon and eggs brought Lucas and Lily out of their rooms.  
"Good morning." Brooke smiled. Luke couldn't believe that she could be so cheerful when she had only had fours hours sleep that night. Lily, in response, only grumbled. She needed a lot more sleep to appear cheerful in the morning.  
After breakfast, Lily rushed out the apartment and downstairs to Rhys' waiting car. Brooke watched the car speed away from a window.

As Brooke turned away from the window, she smiled at the sight of Luke cradling Savannah in his arms; they both looked so peaceful. Watching her husband and daughter, she almost missed the suitcase resting by the couch.  
"Going somewhere?" She asked surprised. He hadn't said anything about going away.  
"L.A. I told you this, remember?" He sounded sincere.  
"I don't." She racked her mind trying to remember any conversation they had where he told her he was going.  
"Why?"  
"The book." He reminded her gently, putting Savannah down in her bassinette. "Remember, they wanted me to do some interviews over there?"  
"I don't." She was still emotional and tears threatened to overwhelm her pretty face once again. She didn't want Lucas to leave her alone with a month old baby.  
"I don't want to leave you or Savannah." He pulled her in close to him for a hug. "I'll be back in three days." He promised. "A couple of interviews here and then it's all over. The book will be out and I won't have to go to anymore meetings."  
Brooke looked up at him and smiled; she liked the idea of having him home constantly.

Once Lucas left, Brooke was alone in the apartment. While Savannah slept, she realised for the first time in ages how big it actually was. When everyone was here it had a small atmosphere, but when it was just her and the baby…

The quiet and calm didn't last all day; it couldn't, for the Scott Family, it was impossible. At three thirty that afternoon, Lily arrived home with Rhys in tow.  
"I'm home." Lily called out, as she breezed through to her room. Rhys found Brooke in the kitchen.  
"Good afternoon Brooke." He was always so polite. She smiled back at Rhys. She couldn't say anything to him though, because by the time she went to speak, Lily came back out.  
"We're going out Brooke. I'll be home in time for dinner. I promise. Love you. Bye." The last of her words were muffled as the door closed.  
Brooke laughed to herself as she went to check on Savannah, who was sleeping in the living room. Lily was an energy ball when she wanted to be.

.:.:.:.:.

"Whoa, whoa, Lily what's wrong?" Brooke had been sitting on the couch reading through a rough of Luke's book that she had found in his office while dinner cooked in the oven, when Lily came barrelling through the door. This time, though, she wasn't a bundle of energy; she was a mess. Her dark eye makeup had smudged, her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were tear-stained.  
"What happened?" Brooke jumped wrapping Lily up in a tight hug, letting the girl cry into her shirt.  
"Rhys and I had a fight."  
"About what?" Brooke asked sympathetically.  
"I don't want to talk about it. I just want to be alone." Brooke let go of her and let her run into her room. That night Brooke ate dinner alone, not seeing the girl for the rest of the night.

The next morning when Brooke opened Lily's bedroom door at seven, she found the room in pitch dark with a Lily shaped lump on the bed.  
"Are you getting up Lily?" Brooke asked quietly. "You have school."  
"I'm not going to school today." Lily mumbled into her pillow. Brooke didn't want to force her to do anything, so she left her alone.

"Can I speak to Lily please?" Rhys had turned up at the front door at ten in the morning.  
"I don't think now is really the best time Rhys." Brooke's voice had turned hostile. "Just give her some room for a while."  
At first he was polite and left. Though, it wasn't the last time he turned up at the door.  
When they were eating dinner, just after Brooke put Savannah to bed, he arrived again. He just didn't get the message that he wasn't wanted at the Scott apartment.

It continued the day after that as well; Rhys first showing up at seven in the morning just after one of Lily's friends had picked her up for school. He didn't believe that Lily wasn't there. Brooke was starting to feel unsafe in her own home, and when Lucas walked through the front door in the early afternoon, Brooke flung herself on him.  
"I haven't been gone that long." He laughed as Brooke hung on tightly to him. Brooke quickly explained the situation, and Luke comforted her. When Lily returned home, only a couple of hours later, she too flung herself on her elder brother.

After dinner that night, Lucas went into his office to make a phone call to his publicist. Brooke let Lily put Savannah down for the night while she cleaned up. The whole afternoon had been quiet. Rhys hadn't shown up once, and now Brooke was enjoying the possibility that he wouldn't show up at all.  
She spoke too soon because the second she put the last of the dishes away, there was a knock at the door. It quickly turned into loud pounding.  
"Lily, go back into the nursery and stay there." Brooke ordered the teenager as she appeared in the living room. The second the nursery door closed, the office door opened, and Lucas emerged; his gun in one hand.  
"Is that really necessary?" Brooke hissed at him. It seemed a bit extreme. Lucas placed the gun on the table next to the door; out of view. He smiled at her, "I don't want to use it."  
Brooke opened the door and came face to face with Rhys, yet again.  
"What do you want now Rhys?" She asked. Looking at him, she realised something was different. He wasn't the same Rhys as he had been that morning.  
"I want to speak to Lily now."  
"You're not speaking to her tonight. She doesn't want to talk to you at the moment."  
"She's my girlfriend. If I want to talk to her I'm going to talk to her." She pinpointed the difference. He was drunk.  
"There's no way I'm letting you in, especially if you've been drinking."  
She didn't see it till it was too late. Rhys pushed her and she fell back into the floor.  
The gun was necessary.  
"You're leaving now." The tone in Luke's voice was threatening. "If not I won't hesitate to shoot you. You will never touch my wife or sister again." He was dead serious. Rhys grumbled but left anyway. Even though he was drunk, he was sober enough to know that Lucas Scott wouldn't hesitate in shooting someone.

"Lily?" Brooke found her sister-in-law in her bedroom reading a magazine.  
"Yeah?" She looked up and frowned. Brooke was limping slightly from the fall.  
"How often does Rhys drink?" She sat down on the edge of the bed.  
"I've never seen him drink before." Lily answered honestly. "Why?"  
"I think he might have a drinking problem. He was drunk when he came here tonight."

Lily started to cry when she realised that Brooke's limping had been a result of Rhys' drunken actions.  
"I'm sorry Brooke."  
Brooke laughed. "It's not your fault; you couldn't have known what he was like."

**A/N: Don't think Rhys has disappeared that easily or that quickly. He isn't ready to let go of Lily yet.  
Don't forget to review either. Now that I've finished my final exams I have a lot more time on my hands. The more reviews I get the faster I'll write **

**Casey xXx**


	23. My Way Home Is Through You

_Nine months ago with the book finally out and doing well on the best seller's list, Luke and Brooke disappeared from the eye of the paparazzi. _

"Luke, c'mon man. One night isn't going to kill you." It was a Thursday night and Skills was trying to convince Lucas to go to the opening of a new club. "Savannah will still be here when you get back. She ain't going anywhere." Skills turned to smile at the ten month old baby girl that the small select group of Brooke and Luke Scott's confidantes and friends had grown to love.  
"Go Lucas." Brooke smiled at him. For the last nine months he had spent every night at home with her and Savannah. He was only twenty-three, he was allowed to enjoy a night out with his friends; he was due for a night out with his friends.

Skills and his friends had managed to coerce him out that night, and he left once he himself had put Savannah down for the night. After he left, Brooke curled up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate to watch a movie.  
As the opening credits rolled, she took a sip of her drink and thought about all the things that had occurred in the last nine months; since Savannah had been born.

Brooke had turned twenty-one, and Luke had surprised her by taking her down to North Carolina. It had been the first contact she had with her family in well over a year, and while everyone but Katie had been tense, she had enjoyed introducing Savannah to her home town and Luke had definitely enjoyed giving her the keys to a brand new holiday home down there.

Lily had turned eighteen and became a senior. She was still living in the apartment, but that was only until she graduated in two or three months time with plans of travelling with Keith. She was still trying to put Rhys behind her. He still hadn't let her go, still occasionally showed up at their apartment, though now security finally stepped in and stopped him from going up.

She didn't want to even start to think about what happened within the Scott Family concerning Peyton and Leon, and Dan; thinking about it was enough to give her a migraine.

Her mind focused back on the movie, but it was unsuccessful, and before long she was drifting off into a dream world.

"_Luke, this isn't fair, Luke." Brooke was laughing as she followed him through a quiet park in North Carolina about ten minutes from her parent's home. He had taken off with Savannah in her stroller, leaving Brooke to run to catch up.  
"Not much further Pretty Girl." Luke didn't even glance back as he spoke. Even though Brooke hadn't been to this park in twenty months, she remembered enough to know that they were coming to the park edge.  
Luke had suddenly stopped, Brooke almost running into his back. "What's going on?" She took a deep breath, regaining her breath.  
"What do you think?" He smiled, pointing to a two storey brick house across the road with a red door and a perfectly manicured garden.  
"It's beautiful." Brooke smiled confused. Why was he pointing out the house?  
Luke fished through his jean pockets and came out with a set of shiny silver keys.  
"Happy birthday Pretty Girl." He kissed her on the lips softly.  
"Look what Daddy brought." Brooke laughed, lifting a giggling Savannah out of her seat.  
"Look what Daddy brought Mama." She repeated, crossing the street with Savannah, ready to explore her new present._

"Brooke." Lily's voice interrupted her. "Brooke, please wake up."  
One emerald eye opened reluctantly, glaring.  
"What is it Lily?"  
Lily had Savannah on one hip and was holding the phone with her free hand. Lily handed her the phone.  
"You might want to take this." She said quietly. Her voice hinted that something bad had happened.  
Wondering what could possibly be wrong, Brooke answered.  
"Brooke Davis-Scott speaking."  
"Brooke, its Luke. Baby, I need you to do something."  
"Now?" She looked at the clock. It was already eleven thirty and she was sleeping. She didn't want to do something.  
"Now." Luke echoed. "I'm at the police station…I need you to bail me out."  
A thousand questions were running through Brooke's mind, but none of them appropriate for a phone conversation while one of them was in a jail cell.  
"I'm coming." She hung up the phone and thought about throwing it across the room; it was his first night out in a year and it ended with him in jail. Instead, she put the phone down and took Savannah off Lily.  
"I have to go collect your brother." She didn't give Lily any explanation, but it didn't matter; it looked like Lily knew already.

Arriving inside the station, Brooke held a sleeping Savannah tight to her chest. The place was busy and full of people she didn't want anywhere near her precious daughter.  
"Excuse me?" She approached the front desk. The policewoman didn't even look up or respond.  
"My husband, Lucas Scott, was just brought in."  
"Have a seat." She sounded bored.  
Brooke looked behind her at the row of seats and chose to stay put.  
"Have a seat." The officer repeated, finally looking up.  
"I'm fine standing." There was no way she was sitting next to the alcoholic who seemed to be leering at her.

Five minutes later, she had paid and Luke appeared. She left the station silently, leaving Luke to chase after her.  
"What on earth did you do to get arrested?" She hissed at him as they walked to the car.  
"I got into a fight." He fell into the passenger seat as Brooke buckled Savannah into her car seat.  
"I can't believe you Lucas."

**GOOD STREAK ONLY LASTS A YEAR.  
**_It's been a while, but after a year of good behaviour in which daughter Savannah Grace Scott was born and best selling second novel Strip Tease released, twenty-three year old Lucas Scott, son of Scott Enterprises millionaire Dan Scott, has returned to his former ways. While at the opening of the Huxton Nightclub on Thursday night, words and fists flew with Jay Murray, another millionaire heir. Wife Brooke Davis-Scott was spotted just before midnight outside the station with her husband and sleeping daughter clearly furious. _

Monday morning Luke was in his office, watching Savannah crawl around with her toys while he and Brooke talked about his most recent magazine appearance. Brooke didn't want to argue with him, not today. Not when she was meeting Haley and Jamie for brunch.  
Brooke picked Savannah up from the floor, much to the protests of the little girl.  
"Just remember." Brooke said struggling with Savannah who was crying and trying to wriggle out of her mum's arms. "That your actions don't just affect your relationship with your father. Not anymore."

Dressing Savannah in a pink dress and white stockings, she smiled at her daughter, who had gotten over her small fit and was now smiling back up at her mum. She was the spitting image of her father with her blue eyes and blonde hair.  
"Let's hope you don't turn into a party girl though." The last thing she wanted was a mini Peyton on her hands.

As Brooke pushed Savannah in her stroller down the street towards the café she and Haley often met at for lunch, she smiled. Her life now was so much more natural, more real than it had been only two years ago. She couldn't believe that it had already been two years since she'd moved to New York; she no longer thought about what life was like before, how much more simple it was in North Carolina.

"Aunty Brooke." Jamie squealed running up to her as Brooke reached the café and found Haley already waiting at one of the outdoor tables.  
"Is Savannah sleeping?" He asked quietly.  
"Afraid so buddy, but she'll wake up soon." She wouldn't sleep when there was so much noise outside.

After brunch finished and Haley left with Jamie to go visit her parents, Brooke took off for a walk, not wanting to go home and argue with Lucas yet again. She could hear Savannah babbling to herself and she smiled again, her beautiful baby didn't have a care in the world.

Crossing the street into Central Park, she let her mind wander. She and Lucas had celebrated their first wedding anniversary in September; a feat Brooke didn't imagine possible on her wedding day. She recalled that since Savannah was only three months old and still tiny, they spent most of the day inside, but just before sunset Lucas convinced Lily to look after Savannah while they went for a walk in the park.

Something, once again, brought Brooke out her daydreaming. At first she didn't realise what it was, but then she realised she was watching Rhys, Lily's ex-boyfriend. What bothered her was that he was participating in what looked too much like a drug deal. Rhys, Lily's Rhys, the Rhys who had looked after Savannah (with Lily's help) not even a month after her birth.

It was once Rhys had disappeared that Brooke realised she was frozen in place. After checking on Savannah, who was still happily babbling to herself, she rushed home to the safety of her apartment.  
"Hey, Hey Brooke. What's wrong?" Brooke ran straight into Luke's arms once she was inside. "What's wrong?" He stroked her hair, trying to calm the shaking.  
"I just saw something in the park." She oped to not tell him the full truth because if she had been over-reacting and seeing something false, she didn't want Lucas to get worked up and hurt Rhys, which is what he had wanted to do for the last nine months.  
"Are you sure you're okay?" Lucas questioned after Brooke's (modified) retelling of the event in the park.  
Brooke nodded and reached up to kiss him. "It's good to see you though." Their argument from the morning was long forgotten. Savannah gurgled from her spot in the stroller and Luke's attention diverted to her.  
"Hello princess." He smiled lifting her up. "Did you behave for mummy this morning?" Luke left the room to go play with Savannah in his office.

When Lily came home that afternoon Brooke found her in her room on her laptop.  
"Hey Lily, can I talk to you for a minute?"  
"Sure." Lily looked up from the screen. "Can I type while you talk though, this assignment needs to be handed in on Wednesday."  
Brooke nodded. "When you were with Rhys…" She knew she was bringing up a touchy subject. Lily tensed and looked up, her normally bright eyes darkened at his memory.  
"Did he ever do drugs?"  
Lily hesitated and then nodded. "It was the reason we broke up. He didn't understand that I couldn't be near him if he did that. Not after everything with Peyton. He keeps promising that he's stopped, but I don't know if I can believe him."  
"Don't believe him sweetie." Brooke smiled sympathetically. She didn't go into anymore detail as she left the younger girl's room, shutting the door softly behind her.

**A/N: And always; don't forget to review  
Casey xXx**


	24. The Leaving Song

**A/N: I haven't forgotten about this story; I promise. The truth was I have had this chapter (and the next) written for a while, but after unfortunately losing my wonderful beta Kelsey I tried to find another one before I gave them to you but considering that is getting me nowhere, I am now going to post the chapter for all my very loyal reviewers and readers.  
So currently, I'm looking for a new beta. If you're interested send me an email/PM ASAP because I need someone to help me with a couple of other things to.  
Enjoy the chapter.**

Falling back onto the silk sheets, Brooke allowed herself to finally relax. The past week had been incredibly chaotic and to think it was only Thursday terrorised her even more.  
Brooke could hear Luke talking quietly to Savannah as he put her to sleep in her cot and she smiled to herself; today had been Savannah's first birthday and it had been celebrated with a party at Haley and Nate's house which even Karen, Peyton and Leon made an appearance at. While it had been tense in the beginning when Luke trying to kick out his scandal ridden twin sister and her husband; the massive teddy bear they'd brought as a present/peace offering was the reason they'd been allowed to stay; at least they were trying to be in their niece's life. Dan, who was the only Scott missing had only met his grand daughter three times in the past twelve months.  
Later that afternoon, once Savannah's party was over the celebrations moved to the Scott Mansion. Lily had graduated the week before and it was early tomorrow morning in which she and Keith were leaving for their five month world holiday.

Luke collapsed onto the bed next to her, kissing her neck softly.  
"Savannah's asleep."  
He kissed her again, causing Brooke to giggle slightly.  
"Lily's sleeping." He kissed her in her soft spot just below her ear, this time moving so he was on top of her.  
"I believe we're alone Mrs. Scott."  
Brooke had his shirt off before he'd even finished the sentence.

.:.:.:.:.

"Five more minutes." Brooke moaned the next morning as Luke shook her awake. Her long raven hair was fanned out; her head on Luke's chest – the exact position she'd fallen asleep in.  
"What time is it anyway?" She grumbled as Luke bent down to kiss her good morning.  
"It is three am." His tone was apologetic.  
"Why the hell are you waking me up at three fucking am?" She glared up at him, her mood instantly souring.  
"We've got to take Lily to the airport, remember?"  
Brooke grumbled again, but conceded rolling out of the bed.  
Twenty minutes later dressed in a summer dress due to the June heat Brooke looked a lot more civilised, and she felt it too as she allowed the coffee she'd just made to make it's way down her throat.  
"Are you going to be the one to wake Savannah?" Brooke asked smiling serenely at Lucas as he entered the kitchen; she dreaded the inevitable screaming that came when they had to wake her up, and since Luke was the one who woke her up at this god forsaken hour he could have the pleasure.  
He laughed, drinking his own coffee. "I have to help Lily get her suitcases down to the car." And right on cue, Lily exited her room two massive pink suitcases beside her.  
"You're getting Savannah up." This time it wasn't a question and Brooke's emerald eyes showed she was dead serious.

Luke, who couldn't bring himself to wake up his baby girl from her peaceful sleep, managed to get Savannah out of her cot and into her car seat without once waking her while Lily and Brooke struggled to get the suitcases into the boot; now, Luke was speeding down the high way en route to the John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The sight at the airport was incredible. The entire Scott Family and Lily's friends crowded one of the lounges outside the departure gates; a large mismatched group, enemies being forced to coexist with each other.  
"Hey kiddo." Keith broke away from one group to make his over to Lily who was standing with Brooke and Luke. "You ready for this?" He was excited. He missed travelling and he was ready to go away for awhile with Lily where he could finally call her his daughter.  
"Hey baby girl." Karen said quietly, making her way over to the group. "Are you sure you're ready?" She repeated Keith's question. She wasn't ready to let go of her youngest child just yet.  
Lily wrapped her mum up in a tight hug. "I love you so much mum." She whispered. "I'm sorry." She said simply, not sure how to summarise everything that had happened in the past two years.  
"I know sweetheart."  
Then Lily ran off to some of her friends leaving Brooke and Luke alone with Karen and Keith.  
"Keith…" Karen cut off; she didn't know what to say.  
"It's okay Karen." He smiled. "I'll look after our girl with my life." Karen choked back some tears and hugged him tightly, the words she wanted to say silently understood. When they separated, Karen deliberately avoided Dan's glare.

Savannah who was still asleep in Brooke's arms was beginning to grow incredibly heavy, but before Brooke could go sit down a voice cut through the air, distinct despite the constant noise of an airport.  
"Lily." The teenaged girl turned around as did Luke and Brooke; both instantly recognising the voice. It didn't matter that it had been almost a year since their relationship had suddenly ended; Rhys still hadn't stopped turning up at their door all hours of day and night; not being able to accept that this beautiful girl who had once loved him didn't want him anymore.  
Luke stepped towards Rhys.  
"I don't think you're wanted here."  
"Please, I just want to talk to Lily." It was what he usually said; and unfortunately Lily always allowed it, meaning that those nights would habitually end in more tears and arguments.  
He was a contrast to previous nights. Sober and composed he looked like the old Rhys again; finally coming to the realisation that to get her back he would need to change his entire life and he was scared by the fact that now she was disappearing overseas.  
Luke took another step forward. The last thing Lily needed was to get on the plane distraught over Rhys and their last argument.  
"I'll talk." Lily passed Luke and led Rhys away from the group.  
While Luke stood to brood over his younger sister's unconventional relationship Brooke sat down; Savannah's weight finally proving too much. As Savannah shifted in her sleep Brooke watched the private heated discussion. There was a lot of arm waving and angry glares that were occasionally interrupted by a tender look or a soft touch. The eighteen year old who Brooke had grown to love so much was too kind for her own good sometimes. Then suddenly Lily walked back to the group as Rhys stormed off for the exit. Their farewell had not ended well.  
"We better get going." She said to Keith as she started to hug every one good bye again. By the time she reached Brooke the teenager's blue eyes were threatening to overflow with tears.  
"How'd it go with Rhys?" Brooke asked quietly so Luke couldn't hear them.  
"I'll be fine. I'm sorry if he harasses you while I'm gone."  
She kissed Brooke's cheek and the top of Savannah's head and then like that she and Keith were gone.

Brooke had barely made it home again, putting Savannah back in her cot before her head hit her pillow and she let the dark engulf her again.

The next time she woke up the sun was high in the sky and creating a stream of light over the bed. Hearing voices out in the living room she went out to find Luke with Skills and Time while Savannah played with her toys in her playpen which was in the middle of the floor.  
"Good morning Sleeping Beauty." Luke smiled kissing her softly as she sat down next to him, cuddling into his side.  
"Good morning." She kissed his cheek softly. "What are you boys plotting out here?"  
"Trying to get him to have some fun." Time spoke up. "He's being a bore."  
"Last time you wanted him to have fun I had to go bail him out." Brooke reminded them.  
"That's different. That won't happen again. You should join us." Tim suggested. He knew that as Luke's wife Luke would kill him if he ever found out but he still thought Brooke was hot; the image of a nineteen year old Brooke in her bikini by the pool after their engagement was still etched into his head.  
Brooke laughed. There was no way that was happening. "I'd rather stay home with Savannah; but you can go out." She looked at Lucas with a soft smile. "But I won't come bail you out again."

"Are you going to be right tonight?" Luke asked coming into the kitchen kissing her quickly on the lips when she looked up. Brooke was trying to feed Savannah dinner while Luke got ready to leave.  
"I'm fine. I have Savannah." And on cue the baby girl laughed.  
Luke chuckled kissing Savannah's blonde hair before kissing Brooke again; longer this time as she had given up on trying to feed Savannah the mashed baby food that would eventually just end up all over both of them.  
"Go. Have fun." She urged him between kisses as the doorbell rang.

.:.:.:.:.

Two chick flick movies later and Brooke was ready for bed. She sat up carefully holding Savannah who had fallen asleep on her chest and after putting her down in the cot she headed to her room and for the second time that day she was dreaming by the time her head found the soft material of her pillow.

In the extremely early hours of the next morning Brooke was aware that Luke had arrived home safely from whatever club he had been at as his lips started to make their way across her neck and shoulders; not being able to bring herself to open her eyes she extended her hand to Luke and she let herself be pulled in tight against his chest who soon after fell fast asleep.

A couple of hours later when Brooke woke up again she managed to detract herself from a sleeping, shirtless Lucas without awakening him. Smiling, she checked on Savannah before padding into the kitchen to make herself her morning coffee.  
Bringing the steaming cup to her lips she then ventured into the living room ready to watch some Saturday morning MTV before Savannah woke up; however she never got to turn the telly on; instead spilling the contents of her cup down her top as she saw what occupied the couch.

Chelsea. Chelsea Worthington was on _her _couch wearing one of _her _old tops.

She stormed back into the bedroom, slapping Luke hard across the face before pulling her suitcases out from the closet throwing everything she could find in it.  
Luke was confused for a second after he woke up; why had Brooke slapped him? _Why was she packing?_  
"You're a bastard." She hissed at him before any explanation could be given. "What the hell were you thinking?" It was one thing for her to have deal with the constant rumours surfacing in magazines that speculated about his relationship with people like Chelsea and Holly-Jane but for him to bring one of them into their house and give them one of her tops to sleep in was crossing the line.  
"What?" He looked confused; then he remembered.  
"Luke." Chelsea's voice floated in from the living room. Luke paled. At the same time, Savannah started crying. Before Brooke could get to her Luke beat her to it, ignoring Chelsea in the next room.  
When Brooke reached the nursery, seconds after Lucas she found him holding their baby calming her back down.

"You need to listen to me." Luke said quietly so Chelsea didn't overhear and so not to scare Savannah. "Nothing happened."  
Brooke pulled out a bag from Savannah's closet and started throwing everything in that.  
"I know." Brooke refused to stop and look at him.  
"Then why are you packing?"  
"Because you crossed so many lines; you brought her into our home." She hissed lifting Savannah out of his arms and laid her down on the changing table.  
"You gave her _my _clothes." She quickly changed Savannah's nappy and dressed her in a light pink summer dress.  
"Nothing happened though." He was pleading now. Brooke was over-reacting and he needed to stop her before she did anything erratic, like leaving with their daughter.

"Lucas?" Chelsea's voice floated into the room and cut between them again. Brooke's normally sparkling eyes looked dead; she didn't have the energy to ignore Chelsea or any of his exes anymore.  
"Please, just stay here for a minute." He pleaded with Brooke exiting the room so he could go get rid of Chelsea; he needed to get rid of Chelsea.

Brooke ignored him and the second Luke left the room she grabbed Savannah's bag and her own suitcase. The front door slammed shut before Lucas even realised that she had left.

**Oh, and don't let my erratic updates deter you. Please review the chapter and tell me what you think of it, because trust me I write better chapters when more people review. =)  
~~ Casey xXx**


	25. The Desperate Kingdom of Love

**A/N: Thank you to Carabell (Broodygirl) for looking over this chapter for me; and as always don't forget to review at the end.**

_You've reached Brooke Davis Scott; obviously I'm busy at the moment and can not come to the phone, but if you leave your name and number I will call you back the second I get your message…  
_Her flirtatious, raspy voice filled Luke's ear, he closed his piercing blue eyes as he let himself become engulfed in the sound; he could remember the day she recorded that message; he had been standing right beside her.  
_Message bank full  
_Damn, there was no room left to leave her a message. Luke threw the land line against the kitchen wall in frustration, watching it crack against the countertop; why wasn't she answering her goddamn phone?

It had been an hour since Brooke took Savannah and stormed out; Luke in the other room with Chelsea as she apologised in her hung-over fashion, about the events of the night before. When he had heard the front door slam shut, realisation had set in and he had kicked Chelsea out, intent on getting his wife back; he needed her back so he could properly explain exactly what had happened and prove to her that she was overreacting. It had taken him an hour to block up the memory on her phone in telling her exactly that.

.:.:.:.:.

Brooke was sitting in a small diner. She looked like a complete mess as she sat in a corner booth with Savannah on her lap. Her eyes were puffy and red and her cheeks were stained with the tears that she hadn't been able to stop since she left the apartment; on the table in front of her was her cell phone which she watched flashing Luke's name on the screen until it finally stopped vibrating.  
She needed to devise a plan, a strategy. She knew that what Luke had said to her in Savannah's bedroom and on her voicemail was true; Luke was not capable of anything like that anymore. It was the trust she had a problem with; after nearly two years of marriage and a daughter she, she couldn't trust these other women, these women who had a past with Luke. She just needed to get away from the city and everything, just to sort herself out.

She considered going to Nathan and Haley's house, she had been on her way there before she had stopped at the diner, but now she thought against it. As much as she loved Haley, she knew that her sister in law would want to know the exact detail of what had happened and there was a good chance that she would overreact even more then she herself had. No, what she really needed was to be alone for a while.  
Throwing some bills on the counter she threw her phone back in her bag and lifted up Savannah who was whimpering into her mother's shoulder; she knew where to go.

.:.:.:.:.

With the kitchen phone shattered into unrecognisable pieces, Luke moved into his study where he sat behind his mahogany desk fiddling with the still in tack hand held; he realised that he must have been crazy to ring this number but he was desperate.  
"Nathan Scott Speaking." He remembered that the last time Brooke had stormed out of the apartment after an argument she had gone straight to Haley; he was praying that this was the case now.  
"Hey Nate, listen man, is Brooke there?" He tried to sound casual and failed horribly.  
"What?" Nathan's voice dropped to a whisper so his wife couldn't overhear the conversation. "She isn't. Why are you even asking that question?" He didn't want anymore drama from his brother.  
"She found Chelsea on the couch this morning; she took Savannah and left. I haven't seen her since." He could hear the guilt in his voice as he admitted that.  
"Jesus Luke." Nathan swore loudly forgetting momentarily that he was meant to be whispering; he lowered it again. "You sure know how to ruin a perfectly good thing don't you."  
"Nathan; it wasn't like that." Normally he would explain himself further but he _really _didn't have time to listen to his brother's taunting at the moment.  
"Listen," Nate spoke again before Luke could hang up. "If she comes here I'll call you; but for everyone's sake I hope Haley does not find out what you did."

The radio was turned on to the top 40, with the aim of preventing Brooke from falling asleep as she drove towards North Carolina. A plan formulating inside her head, she realised that she wasn't physically tired but more emotionally tired. She was tired of fighting for a relationship that was destined to fail. Dan had arranged it; and now he was the one most against it; she had had enough of it and she just needed to get away for a while. She was driving towards the house that Luke had brought for her only three months ago on her twenty first birthday.  
Her cell phone started ringing, startling both herself and Savannah who once again started crying; she had been crying on and off since Brooke had admittedly cruelly snatched her out of her daddy's arms that morning. Glancing at the screen, she confirmed her suspicion that it was once again Luke. This time however she answered the phone; she knew that if she went any longer without answering they were both going to go crazy.

"Brooke?" The excitement in Luke's voice was obvious. "Babe, I'm so happy you picked up."  
"Well you wouldn't stop calling." She smiled slightly as she manoeuvred her car to the side of the road so she could focus on her conversation.  
"Pretty girl, please come back to the apartment so we can talk this through." Like rational adults.  
"Luke I love you so much." She started off, she may love him and she might now last night was innocent but she wasn't about to make a u-turn. "But this morning was too much. You didn't tell me she was there, you let her wear my clothes."  
"She was drunk and threw up all over herself." He still felt a need to explain. "I thought it inappropriate to let her sleep in my clothes."  
"Luke, I just really need to be alone at the moment."  
"Can you at least tell me where you're going so I know you're safe?"  
Brooke remained silent; she knew if she told him he'd be down there straight away.  
"I'll see you soon Luke."  
"I love you Pretty Girl." He just managed to say before the line was disconnected. Hanging up the phone Luke stared at the photograph on his office desk of them on their wedding day; the then forced smiles of happiness on their faces giving the façade that they truly loved each other. He would give anything to see that smile, the true smile, the one that showed her feelings for him.  
Letting a fresh stream of tears descend down her face, Brooke pulled back out onto the quiet road to continue her journey; she glanced at Savannah in the backseat who had just stopped crying, she hated herself for doing this to her daughter.

Brooke had been parked in the driveway of her North Carolina home for a couple of hours staring at the red front door, remembering the last time she and Luke were down here. It wasn't until the sun had started to disappear leaving a golden haze over everything that she could bring herself to move into the house.  
"I'm sorry baby." Brooke apologised to Savannah who grumbled as Brooke lifted her out of her car seat; spending an entire day in a car with her hysterical mother had put her in a foul mood. She kissed her daughter's loose blonde curls as she pulled Savannah's bag out lifting the strap over her shoulder before moving to the front door; she couldn't carry her suitcase in but it didn't matter, she would get it tomorrow.  
Moving swiftly through the house she refused to let herself stop and reminisce over the last happy time she and Luke were alone in the house; right now her priority was to get Savannah washed, fed and ready for bed.  
It was ninety minutes later before Brooke and Savannah were in the nursery, Brooke lowering Savannah into her crib for the night. The blonde baby was barely on the mattress before tears started to swell in her blue eyes; the unfamiliar room and notable absence of her daddy upsetting her. Before the first tears could even spill down her rosy cheeks she was back in the arms of her mother being comforted.  
"I'm sorry baby." She apologised again as she paced the room to stop all the tears and sniffles. Realising that she wasn't going to be able to leave her daughter alone tonight she rested her in the middle of the master bed. Noticing how small her precious little girl looked in the middle of the mattress she lay down next to her willing herself to sleep as she was too exhausted to do anything lay still with her emerald eyes closed but found that sleep was not something that was going to come easily or willingly to her tonight.

Back up north, in their 5th Avenue New York Penthouse Luke sat in an armchair that was situated in the corner of the master bedroom; staring at the still unmade bed that was pushed up against the back wall. The past twenty four hours had been completely fucked up; he had tried to do a good deed for an old friend and as a result his wife left. He knew, as well as she did, that Brooke was over-reacting once again letting her raging emotions overrule her but he really needed her to come back to him. She was sexy, brilliant, funny, independent and hot-tempered but it had been that night almost two years ago, when they spent their first night together as a married couple that he'd fallen in love with her and now he couldn't imagine life without her.  
Even now, after she'd only been gone for less than a day, he was having trouble going to bed knowing that she wouldn't be there to cuddle up to him as she usually did.

**WHERE IN THE WORLD IS BROOKE DAVIS SCOTT?  
**_**This is the question that all social groups in Manhattan have been asking all weekend as Mrs. Davis-Scott, 21, has not been seen since early Saturday morning after storming out of her 5**__**th**__** Avenue apartment building with twelve month old daughter Savannah Grace Scott and a suitcase. Sources say the reason behind Mrs Scott's hasty disappearance was the discovery of Chelsea Worthington, 22, in her house following her husband's, Lucas Scott's, wild night out. Davis-Scott has reportedly always felt threatened by her husband's former party past and his like minded ex-girlfriends, which includes Ms. Worthington**_


	26. The Places We Have Come To Fear The Most

The Scott apartment Monday morning was greatly unreachable. Before the sun had even rose above the city skyscrapers, Lucas Scott had disconnected all the landlines and had started screening all calls on his cell. He didn't want to spend the day listening to the abuse of his family and friends as the stories of his suspected infidelity started to circulate the gossip pages.  
It was mid afternoon before he got the one phone call he had been waiting for; he had just about given up hope but as he saw her name flash on the small LCD screen his heart gave a jump.  
"Brooke?" He greeted sounding both anxious and relived.  
"Luke." Her voice responded tiredly; exhausted.  
"Brooke, please, you need to come home now." He sounded repetitious and he knew it; he hated repeating this same plea.  
"Not right now."  
"Do you love me?" He detested that he was undermining everything as he asked the question he already knew the answer to.  
"Of course I do." Her voice was hoarse with the tears she'd cried over the past two days; she sounded offended that he had to even ask.  
"Then you need to come home before this can get any worse."  
The only answer he received was the dial tone as Brooke hung up on him again before she could break down over the phone.  
As he stared at the small silver phone in his hands, he thought seriously about the bottle of alcohol that he knew was in the back of the kitchen pantry; however before he could make a move the phone, which still lay in his hand, started to ring again.  
Thinking it was Brooke he answered without looking at the ID, and instantly regretted it.  
"Brooke."  
"No Lucas." The cold voice of Dan Scott was enough to send a shiver down his youngest son's spine.  
"What do you want Dan?" Today was not a day for niceties.  
"I have just got off the phone with Franklin Hollander." The name of the top divorce lawyer in America stopped Luke dead in his tracks. "He said that it could be difficult with the child, but this should all be handled quickly and quietly." For a minute, Luke was confused; what on Earth was he talking about?  
"Brooke has not left me." He hissed hanging up the phone before it could end in an explosive argument.  
He didn't think twice as he grabbed his keys and stormed out the apartment; if Brooke wasn't at Nathan and Haley's house there was only one place she could be. He had given her a weekend; he needed to bring her back _now._

.:.:.:.:.

In North Carolina, Savannah Scott was sitting in her playpen completely oblivious to what was happening around her as she contentedly stacked the pastel coloured building blocks.  
"This is ridiculous." Brooke hissed at the man sitting on the couch opposite of her. "I don't know what you expected to happen when you came here today; but it's not happening." Her ex-boyfriend, Felix Tagarro, was sitting on her couch.  
"Brooke, moving back home after a marriage breakup has to be tough. I'm just here to show you my support."  
Brooke was tired of hearing that sentence; all of her friends had taken turns visiting and offering their condolences over her failed marriage. She pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and gathering herself before she gave him the same reply she had given the others.  
"I have not left my husband Felix, you can leave now."  
"Brooke…" He was trying to apologise. She stood up and headed to the front door.  
"Leave."

After Brooke had locked the door behind Felix, she went back to Savannah and lifted her up into a cuddle. Her father had also been around that morning – to talk custody fights and child support. It was enough to have her question her sanity, what part of coming back to North Carolina, to get away ever sounded like a good idea? She couldn't even get a hold of Luke to tell him about the rumours, since he was no longer answering her calls. She was now coming to realise that she had made a big mistake leaving the city the way she had.

Savannah wailed in Brooke's arms as she paced back and forth trying unsuccessfully to calm her. The unseasonable storm that raged outside had taken out the power lines all over city and Brooke was kicking herself over the latest repercussion of her bad decision that left her and her twelve month old daughter alone in a storm with no power.  
"Oh, come on honey. Mama's here, mama's keeping you safe." Ever since they'd left New York two days ago the little girl who was the spitting image of her father had been upset and irritable; 'a complete daddy's girl, she resents me from taking her away' Brooke thought on the edge of tears herself.  
In an effort to calm her down she took the quilt out of the master bedroom and rugged up with Savannah on the couch; Savannah continued to cry but it toned down to a whimper.  
"What do you want baby girl?" Brooke rocked her daughter back and forth, "Do you want to hear a story?" She asked cheerfully as she racked her mind with any story possible. "Do you want mama to tell you a story about daddy?"

It went on like that for most of the night, but no matter what happy story she told Savannah the baby girl refused to close her eyes and go to sleep.  
"When mama first found out she was going to have you, I wasn't sure whether your daddy really loved me…" She was thankful at that point that she wasn't at the inquisitive stage where she could ask questions about love and how you could have a baby when you weren't in love. "Anyway, mama kept it a secret for a little while but when daddy found out he was furious I hadn't told him. Trust me baby girl, you're the best thing that has ever happened to your daddy; and to your mama."  
The little blue eyes that had been staring intently at her finally beginning to droop until all Brooke could see was her pale lavender eyelids and her dark eyelashes.

Not wanting to risk waking Savannah up, or having her wake up alone during the storm, Brooke stretched out on the couch and closed her own eyes, listening to the sounds of the raging storm outside.  
"Savannah's not the only great thing that has happened in my life." Luke's voice hoarse with fatigue broke through the sounds of the wild nature. Brooke's eyes flung open startled and she had to stifle a scream, she hadn't heard the door open. Luke crossed the room quickly and Brooke sat up so Luke could sit down so Brooke's back was resting on his side.  
"How long were you listening?" Brooke asked quietly as she closed her eyes again.  
"Long enough; you need to know I've loved you since our wedding night." His hand took her left hand bringing it to his lips where he pressed firmly on the skin just above her wedding ring.  
"I love you too Luke." Was her quiet reply. "So much."  
"Then why did you leave?" He cut straight to the chase, he was hoping now that they were face to face she couldn't keep avoiding the question like she'd done over the phone.  
"Everything was too much Luke, the city gets to people. Finding Chelsea in our home was the last straw."  
"You are coming back with me though, aren't you?" The fear showed on his face, even though she couldn't see it in the dark, as the thought suddenly occurred to him that she was never coming back.  
"Of course I am." A small giggle escaped her soft lips. "I wouldn't dream of leaving you."  
"Good, 'cause we need to go on damage control. My father has already called Franklin Hollander."  
They sat there in the silence after that listening to the storm that continued outside and the steady breaths of Savannah who dreamt peacefully oblivious to the outside world, until they both fell asleep in their uncomfortable positions.

**Thank you to everybody that read and reviewed the last chapter and for Broodygirl (again) for beta-ing this chapter.  
Don't forget to review; Hope you all had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year  
~ Casey xXx **


	27. Truth Doesn't Make A Noise

The next morning, in the aftermath of the storm Brooke packed the few belongings that she had brought for her and Savannah from New York City. Delighted squeals erupted from the next room where Lucas played with their daughter, these where the same high pitched squeals that had been emanated from Savannah's petite lips when she had awoken and discovered her fathers arms around her.

Lucas loaded the bags into Brooke's car as Brooke strapped Savannah into her car seat, which had been moved to of Lucas' car when the child had refused to let her father out of her sight. "There you go sweetie pie mommy will see you at home". Brooke cooed to her daughter loving the sound of 'home'.

.:.:.:.:.:.

Brooke walked briskly through the streets of New York City, pushing Savannah's stroller in front of her through the crowds of people who thankfully didn't recognise her as they rushed through their hectic lives. It had been a week since she had arrived back home and the rumours still hadn't disappeared.  
As she turned into a quieter street, she was grateful that no one was paying any attention to her - she didn't want a potential false alarm circulating the country this evening – as she entered the office of her doctor.

The raven haired girl sat in the office, Savannah sitting on her lap playing idly with her earrings. Brooke gently moved Savannah's hand away from her jeweller and tried to distract her with one of her favourite toys while she waited for her doctor to re-appear; she also tried to conceal the nerves that were undoubtedly being felt by her daughter. Suddenly the door behind her opened, letting in a cool breeze and causing Brooke to slightly jump at the surprise  
"Thank you for waiting Mrs. Scott." The doctor smiled as he took his seat, casually looking through her patient file. "I have some good news for you; you are most definitely pregnant again."  
After thanking the doctor and wangling Savannah back in her stroller; even though the resistance was high, she set off to find Luke.  
"We're going to go see daddy baby girl." Brooke smiled as she began walking; she wasn't about to repeat past mistakes.

_Brooke sat there as still as possible on her bed in the five star hotel that they were staying in for the week. The pregnancy test that told her she was apparently expecting a baby lay discarded in the trash can; obscured so her husband couldn't accidently find out. She was playing with her wedding ring absentmindedly while she waited for Lucas to return from wherever he disappeared to, she needed to tell him; this was something that she could definitely not do by herself._

_When the door opened and Lucas appeared though, Brooke changed her mind about telling him. He was angry about something, his cell phone still in his hands.  
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked her as the door slammed shut, causing her to jump at the loud noise; she was still incredibly still.  
"Nothing's wrong." Brooke answered quietly. She would tell him another time, possibly when they were back home. "Was it a bad phone call?" _

Lucas Scott was in Central Park playing a game of one-on-one basketball with Skills. He was unaware of the person watching them silently; obscured behind a large tree. He shot another goal and Skills conceded realising he had been defeated. Turning around, Luke discovered Brooke and Savannah rapidly approaching the court. When they were next to him he lifted Savannah up into a big hug.  
"Did you see daddy win?" He asked the little girl, not al all expecting an answer.  
"Luke, I need to tell you something." She drew his attention away from their daughter.  
"Sure pretty girl."  
Brooke had the perfect poker face on; there was nothing in her sparkling emerald eyes, her rosy cheeks or her soft, cherry red lips to hint at what she had to tell him, he started to worry fearing the absolute worse.  
"Nothing bad has happened, has it?"  
Brooke shook her head, allowing the faintest smile to cross her lips. Standing on her tip toes, her lips grazed his earlobe softly.  
"I'm pregnant."  
She stepped back to observe his reaction which moved quickly from surprised to happy to delighted and he wrapped her up in a tight hug.  
His game with Skills over, Luke joined Brooke for the walk home, one muscled arm wrapped protectively around her still slender waist.

**FAMILY BLISS?  
**_Amongst rumours of marital unhappiness after just less than two years of marriage Lucas and Brooke Scott tonight announced that they are expecting a younger sister or brother for their one year old daughter Savannah Scott. Is this a last ditch attempt to save their marriage which has recently included a reunion between Scott and ex Chelsea Worthington?_

Brooke placed the paper back onto the bed shaking her head at the last line of the report released only the day after the doctor's confirmation. She refused to allow the rumours to deter her mood. Last night she had talked to her sister Katie, and her parents telling them the good news, as well as all of her friends and the Scott Family; she wasn't about to let anyone deter her extreme happiness, she remembered the perfect way she had woken that morning, she giggled as she felt a tickling sensation on her stomach as she lay in bed that morning, taking advantage of Savannah's sleep in. She looked down to find Luke kissing her naked torso where in a couple of month's the baby bump would be. She lay back down against the soft material of her pillow as Luke moved his way up from her torso to her chest to her neck before finally reaching her lips; she loved days that started off like this.  
Eventually Savannah woke up and her parents had to get up and face reality; which had a way of dealing them surprises.

"My mum wants us to visit her today." Luke announced coming out of his study and breaking into Brook's daydream. Brooke only smiled as she passed Savannah over repeating in her head 'nothing will deter my mood'; this could turn out to be an interesting visit; all of the Scott's had a habit of being unpredictable.

The façade of the Scott mansion still managed to impose on Brooke slightly, even after the two years and a bit she had been with Lucas.  
"Come to Gramma." Karen cooed holding out her hands to Savannah once they were all in the living room. "She's so beautiful; she looks just like Peyton did at this age." Brooke could only smile; both she and Luke had seen the resemblance, both hoping that she would not turn out anything like her aunt; the last time they'd heard from her, she was leaving for months to go on tour with her husband. Her family was surprised that the marriage has lasted this long, as it quickly approached their second anniversary.  
For a little while they Savannah sat there talking casually while played contently on Karen's lap. Then suddenly the conversation grew serious.  
"These rumours aren't true are they?" Karen looked them both squarely in the eyes. "This pregnancy isn't some last attempt is it?"  
"I would have thought that you wouldn't believe these rumours; you of all people." Lucas snapped at his mother.  
"You're father still has Hollander ready. He thinks it's only a matter of time." She explained. "I want to be able to tell him he's wrong."

Brooke closed her eyes thinking to herself again 'nothing will deter my mood, nothing will deter my mood'.


	28. To Wish Impossible Things

Nothing will deter my mood; nothing will deter my mood…

Brooke had been mentally chanting her makeshift mantra for over an hour now and unfortunately she was still at the Scott Mansion, Savannah was happily playing with her Gramma, and Luke couldn't bring himself to tell his mother that they had to leave. Brooke was sat next to him, clutching his hand tightly as she tried to converse with him telepathically; they had to get out of there before something bad happened.  
Before something like…  
The three adults in the room jumped as the front door slammed open; Brooke grabbed her daughter off Karen's lap and held her close to her chest before Dan could storm into the room.  
"Karen, Karen. What is that car doing out the front?"  
Luke decided that now was a great time to leave.  
"We're going now mum okay?" He whispered, grabbing Brooke's hand again and leading her towards the front door; but they couldn't escape a confrontation with the feared patriarch of the family.  
"Well, well what are you two doing here?" He sneered down on them. Brooke could hear Savannah whimpering into her shoulder.  
"Some people actually enjoy spending time with their family, like your wife. But don't worry about that now. We're leaving." Unlike Brooke, Luke could not be intimidated by his father; after twenty three years he had built up a strong shield. Luke brushed past Dan and Brooke quickly followed, thought she was careful not to brush Dan.  
After ensuring that Savannah was safely strapped into her car seat, Brooke slumped into the passenger seat and closed her eyes as Luke silently pulled out of the driveway. 'Once again,' she sighed to herself. 'Dan Scott has managed to deter my mood.'  
"We're never going to be them are we?" Brooke asked as she turned back to smile at her daughter; she refused to allow Savannah and their unborn baby to grow up in the same elite social world that Luke did.  
"Never." Luke promised sincerely taking a hold of her hand as the Scott mansion disappeared behind them.

.:.:.:.:.:.

Brooke was standing next to the gate in a loose yellow dress that not only kept her cool in the still warm weather, but also perfectly showed off rounded pregnant stomach. She was holding a fifteen month old Savannah on her hip who was contently playing with the loose strands of Brooke's raven hair that had escaped from the messy ponytail it had been pulled into to keep the hair off the back of her neck; she was overwatching the small group of men that were moving boxes from the back of a truck to various rooms in the two storey, brick home that was situated just outside of bustling Manhattan.  
Their move was a result of that afternoon spent at the Scott Mansion three months ago; after returning home Brooke had jumped on Luke's laptop and spent hours trawling through real estate websites to find the perfect family home away from any pretence.  
"Can we stop yet babe?" A slight sheen of sweat covered Luke, Nathan, Skills and Tim's faces'; Brooke smiled, spying a small pile of boxes that still sat in the truck; neither of them realised they had so much stuff in storage until it came to moving.  
"But if you stop now," She smiled sweetly, "Who's going to finish unpacking the trailer?" Her hormones always got her what she wanted and reluctantly the boys went back to work.

When the heat became too much for Savannah and she fell into a slumber, her mother moved her to her cool air-conditioned bedroom which was the only unpacked, organised room in the house. Laying her down gently in the crib, Brooke sat down on the rocking chair in the corner of the bedroom and closed her eyes, her hands rubbing the stomach as the baby inside her kicked; she soon fell into an uncomfortable sleep herself as she let the sounds of nature outside the window engulf her.

While she was sleeping, Luke moved her from the wooden chair to her comfortable bed that was now positioned in the master bedroom. Brooke opened one groggy green eye and smiled at Luke who was sitting next to her just watching her sleep.  
"Where is everybody?" She whispered, too tired to actually work up any tone of concern about it.  
"Its early evening babe, everybody's gone home. The boxes are everywhere, I think Haley actually started unpacking for you before Nathan dragged her away."  
Brooke smiled again, this time sitting up. Haley was such a great best friend and sister-in-law.  
"Have you cooked dinner?" Brooke asked, becoming more playful as she woke up and regained some of her energy back, "'Cause I'm starving."  
Luke smiled as he helped her climb out of bed and circled an arm around her waist.  
"Of course I have pretty girl, do you think I'm that incompetent?" They walked down the stairs towards kitchen, it was much larger than their old one and Brooke couldn't help but laugh when she saw the takeout Chinese that was waiting for them on the counter.  
"Just what I wanted." She was already reaching for the various boxes.  
After the last of the boxes were scraped clean Brooke followed Luke out to the front steps where she rested her head on his shoulder.  
"This is all perfect." Brooke whispered. "How long do you think we can keep out of the media spotlight?"  
At least once a week for the past three months, a magazine article or an entertainment show commented on their relationship which according to them went from one strain to another.  
"I'll give it to morning." Luke kissed the back of her hand, "Come on let's go to bed."

Brooke couldn't help it, all of her sleeping patterns seemed to be stuffed up, and she was awake again at the crack of dawn. Leaving Luke, who was quietly snoring, she crept into the bedroom, which was fast becoming the new baby's nursery; Savannah's bassinette, a new dresser and a rocker furnished the room while clothes and toys had fast started piling up thanks to their friends and family. The walls, unlike Savannah's very gender specific pink, were painted a pale yellow bringing a lot of light to the room. She sat down in the rocker and picked up the purple monkey that lay on the dresser.  
"Hey baby." Brooke whispered it had become somewhat of her ritual before she started the day, sitting in this room and talking to the baby that was rapidly growing inside of her. "I can't wait until you come out; everybody is excited to see you." She also wanted all the displeasures of pregnancy to stop again; nobody liked searing back pains and having to constantly run to the bathroom. "You're going to love your room."  
The baby kicked once, and Brooke understood it as confirmation; pleased with her one-sided conversation she left the serenity that the room provided ready to start the day.

**I admit, this is very much a filler chapter, but that doesn't mean you don't have to review! I'm sure you all know how much I love reviews waiting for me.  
I also kinda know what sex the baby is going to be, and I've even picked out a name but I'm always open to suggestions and if the majority of you guys want a certain sex, I'm willing to cooperate (I'm also open to any new names)  
**

**I have to thank, as always, my beta Carabell, who not only does an amazing job with these chapters but also keeps me focused even when I can't in this 40 degree Celsius weather (110F roughly)**

**~ Casey xXx**


	29. The Runaway Found

Brooke roamed leisurely through Bellini Baby a store on the Upper East Side, pushing Savannah in her stroller; usually she would carry her but at 7 months pregnant there was just no room.  
"What about this one?" Luke's voice cut through the relative silence of the store as he rounded the corner to show his wife a cute sky blue one piece with a small basketball hand stitched onto the left chest. They had spent the last three hours in the confines of the store trying to construct a wardrobe for the coming baby and it was proving to be difficult when they had made the decision to hold out on finding out the sex of the baby.

"How do you know it's going to be a boy?" Brooke laughed gently, pushing Savannah's curls off her face. "How about it Sav, do you want a brother?"  
Savannah gurgled and Luke grinned in triumph translating the sound as a confirmation.  
"Well I like this." Brooke could play his game as well, lifting up a miniature pink and purple dress. "Do you want a sister instead Sav?" Once again, she gurgled; much to Brooke's delight.

"Traitor." Luke teasingly accused Savannah. "There has to be something here we can agree on." He turned his attention back onto Brooke. "It can't be that hard."  
Brooke relented, putting the dress back; she could always play dress ups with Savannah when she eventually found the bigger sizes.

It took then another hour but after Luke had temporarily confiscated Brooke's credit cards and lured her away from the toddler section, they finally walked out into the Manhattan afternoon with at least five hundred dollars worth of clothing for the baby as well as several new outfits for Savannah.

When they returned home, it was to find that someone had let themselves in and filled the den with pink and blue balloons and streamers. While Luke went to put Savannah down for her afternoon nap with a knowing grin, Brooke followed the delicious aroma to the kitchen to discover who had broken in to bake cookies.  
"Hales." Brooke smiled when she saw her sister-in-law's back bent as she put a tray of cookies into the oven. "What are you doing?"  
"Oh, Tigger." Haley jumped at the sound of the second voice. "You scared me."  
Brooke looked around her kitchen, the counter that surrounded the room loaded with cookies, cakes and home made dip for the vegies that were waiting to be cut.  
"What's going on Hales?" She echoed her previous question.  
"Your baby shower, I told you I was hosting one for you."  
Brooke was going to blame it on the baby brain, because it had completely slipped her mind. When Haley had her back turned again, Brooke crept out of the room.

"Please don't leave me." Brooke had her arms wrapped tightly around Luke's neck and she wasn't prepared to let go. It was late afternoon and Luke was fleeing to his brother's house for the duration of the strictly girls only shower.  
"You'll be fine." Lucas laughed at Brooke's dramatics. "I'll be back tonight." He managed to detach himself from Brooke's embrace before zooming away in his car; Brooke watched him disappear and then went to help her friend with the last of the party preparations.  
Haley hadn't allowed her to do anything except get Savannah when she woke up and she had just set her down with her toys in the playpen when the sound of a loud engine cut through the silence of the family neighbourhood; Brooke thought nothing of it as she knew no one with an engine that loud but then she looked out of the window and in her driveway saw a car that she, unfortunately, did recognise.

"What are you doing here?" Brooke met her unwelcomed visitor at the front door.  
"My brother's been busy." Peyton's blonde curls were as unruly as ever and if possible, she was even scrawnier than when Brooke had last seen her, at Savannah's first birthday almost five months ago. "So, what are you having?" Her faux cheerful tone did nothing for Brooke.  
"None of your business Peyton get lost." She would not let her under any circumstances cross the threshold of her beloved sanctuary.  
"Don't be so mean." Peyton pouted. "I've just come home and want to see me my twin brother and his beautiful family."  
"Luke's not here. So go home to you own husband."  
"Can I at least see me niece?"  
There was absolutely no way in hell Brooke was letting Peyton anywhere near her precious, innocent daughter. Not after the rumours reported in the magazines while she'd been away with Leon.  
"Go away Peyton." Brooke said with force quietly before locking the wooden door in front of Peyton's face.

As friends began to arrive for the party Brooke noticed that Peyton was still out the front, sitting in her car.  
"Ignore her." Haley advised as he passed Brooke by the window. "She'll eventually get bored, and leave."  
But she didn't, the crisp afternoon turned to a golden sunset glow before settling into the calm dark night and she didn't once move from her car in the driveway.  
"Go take a rest." Haley suggested when Brooke became visibly stressed. "Go put Savannah to bead and forget about Peyton."  
Brooke agreed to Haley's plan but as she climbed the stairs with her sleeping daughter she couldn't shake the feeling something bad was going to happen.  
Haley was right, as usual; Savannah's room was peaceful and while Savannah slept with her thumb in her mouth and her curls brushing across her face Brooke just relaxed in the rocking chair. She knew she had to go back downstairs to rejoin the party and she had just made the decision to moved when she hears a loud crashing, the garbage bin, from outside. Without even looking out the window Brooke knew who it was; sighing, she grabbed her cell phone; it was time she called Luke, he was the only one she knew of that could stop her.

The party guest quickly dispersed after Luke returned and even Haley – after tidying the kitchen- had left not wanting to witness the antics of her blonde sister-in-law. Leaving the unwrapped pile of presents in the living room and her husband and his sister outside arguing, Brooke climbed into bed to await Luke's return.  
"Is she gone?" Brooke struggled to sit up as Luke lay down.  
"For now."  
"Good." Brooke murmured moving gently to kiss his collarbone. Luke was quick to catch on and he pushed Brooke back against the soft pillows, gently working his way across her neck. Being pregnant was stirring up a lot of hormones for Brooke, and as Luke finally found her mouth she could barely restrain herself. Luke's shirt was quickly off, and then as suddenly as they started Brooke stopped it, turning her head to cut Luke off.  
"Stop." She frustrated him greatly. "Did you hear that?" Luke shook his head, and bent down to start again when they both heard the noise.  
"It's coming from inside." All thoughts of the night disappeared.  
"I want you to go to Savannah's room, and I want you to stay there." He ordered, taking his wooden baseball bat from the closet; it could be Peyton coming back, but it could also be something more.  
Savannah was standing in her crib, clutching the rails when Brooke entered, tears in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks after waking alone scared at the noises downstairs. Brooke held Savannah close to her chest letting the baby's tears flow as she rocked her back and forth in the chair.  
Minutes passed and nothing happened; creeping towards the staircase with Savannah still firmly in her arms she saw the glow of the kitchen lights and the sound of Luke's muffled laughter.

Genuinely confused, and confident there was no danger, Brooke proceeded downstairs and into the kitchen where Luke was next to the oven doubled over in laughter and at the table in the middle of the room a girl Brooke almost didn't recognise. Almost.  
"Lily." Brooke squealed passing Savannah to Luke before wrapping Lily up in a tight hug. "Oh my God, I can't believe your back Lily."


	30. Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

Brooke was exhausted; she had spent all day washing and folding the pile of baby clothes that had grown substantially since the baby shower two nights earlier, as well as fielding phone calls concerning Lily's return to New York which was reported in the gossip pages of the New York Times. She had also received a disturbing call from Lilly's stalker ex-boyfriend, Rhys. Eventually Brooke collapsed into an overstuffed armchair and ordered Chinese takeout for dinner.  
"Hey baby girl." Brooke smiled as Savannah walked, unsteadily gripping the coffee table, from her toys to Brooke. "What have you been doing today?" She pulled her up onto her lap. Savannah's reply was happy babbling that made absolutely no sense, but to which Brooke still showed great interest in.

Savannah was still describing her day to her mama when Lily walked in, holding something that Savannah recognised; with one outstretched pudgy hand she clutched for the purple monkey which until four months ago had sat forgotten on her dresser.  
"It was in the laundry, where do you want it?" Lily held it up as Savannah started to make frustrated sounds to match her frustrated grasping actions.  
"The nursery." Brooke said as she tried to distract Savannah away from the toy, though as soon as Lily, and the monkey, disappeared, the frustrated sounds turned into a wailing.  
"Sav, Sav baby, don't cry." Brooke kissed her cheek. "We'll buy you another teddy." Or find her one from her forgotten pile of teddies in her room.  
As Brooke continued to smother her in kisses, the crying subsided until all it was was a gentle sobbing.

"See baby." Brooke had taken Savannah up to the nursery, "This is all for the new baby."  
She wasn't sure if Savannah understood what was going on; but she sure didn't look happy. Before she could start wailing again though Luke appeared in the room, home from wherever he'd been all day.  
"Pretty girl, baby girl." He greeted the both with a kiss, lingering over Brooke as he took in the smell of her freshly washed hair. "What's wrong?" He brushed away one of Savannah's remaining tears.  
"She's jealous, we're gonna need another purple monkey." Because she was definitely not letting go of the old one now.  
Luke lifted Savannah off Brooke and held her close to his chest, which comforted the daddy's girl greatly. "Don't be jealous Savvie baby." He whispered comfortingly. "Daddy and mama still love you the same."  
Brooke leant back into the rocking chair to watch the scene unfold; if Savannah was jealous now over a teddy, what was going to happen when the baby was born?

Savannah was fast asleep, the purple monkey, in reach next to her; Brooke was going to have to buy a new one tomorrow. Lily out with some friends left Brooke and Lucas with the house to themselves, they curled up on the couch in front of the low burning fire that Luke had lit earlier that evening.  
"Can you take this seriously for a minute, please?" Brooke was getting edgy after being up for so long and she needed to go to bed, but she wanted to go over baby names; and she was tired of hearing some of the ridiculous OTT names celebrities came up with.  
"So, if it's a girl?" Brooke expertly flicked to a certain section of her baby name book; if he dared suggest any food names she would lock him out of the bedroom for the rest of the pregnancy.  
"Scarlett." Luke listened to his wife, the emotions raging through her eyes wasn't something he wanted to test at this point in time. "Courtney, Daniella."  
The look in Brooke's eyes warmed up as she smiled at the nice, 'normal' names.  
"I like Noah for a boy." Brooke rested her head on her husband's shoulder, so she could close her eyes for a minute. "Or Landon."  
Lucas laughed softly at his wife's suggestions; there was something about them that sounded so familiar.  
"You've been watching Nicholas Sparks' movies with Haley again haven't you?"  
Brooke mumbled something in agreement, the warm fire and her day was making her incredibly drowsy.  
"Im going to bed." She yawned widely, "Please be quiet when you come in." She kissed Luke good night and stood up; looking forward to the nice long sleep she was planning on.

That was the last thing she remembered.

Her groggy eyes opened slowly, the room was too bright.  
"Baby?" Luke's face blocked her vision, he looked terrible.  
"Where am I?" Her voice was dry, she needed water.  
"You're in the hospital sweetheart, you collapsed." He had her hand gripped tightly. Brooke vaguely remembered discussing baby names and then standing to go to bed. Reflectively her hands flew to her stomach, where thankfully she could still feel her baby.  
"Mrs Davis-Scott?" A doctor she didn't recognise; one of the very few people that still used her hyphenated name walked into the room which was already crowded with the family in there waiting for Brooke to awaken.  
"You've been incredibly lucky. You've overworked yourself too much; if you want to carry this baby full term you need complete bed rest." Brooke went to protest, complete bed rest seemed a bit excessive, but Luke silenced her.  
"Thank you, Doctor."  
Brooke had to stay in the hospital for the rest of the night for observation and besides Nathan taking Jamie back home, every one stayed; Luke and Haley in the seats next to the head of the bed, Savannah fast asleep next to her on the bed and Lily, who has come to the hospital instantly after receiving a frantic call from Luke, on the couch against the back wall.

"Humour me." Luke smiled cheekily, leading Brooke into their bedroom. "For you and the baby." Brooke had been humouring him all morning; the wheel chair from the hospital bed to the car, not being allowed to lift a finger, or lift her daughter onto her lap.  
She conceded to Luke guiding her to bed, he'd probably win if she put up a fight anyway, but she had no idea how she was going to survive the last eight weeks like this.

**A/N:  
A**_**nother, filler, chapter – but I know how happy you all are with at least a BL update. But don't worry, something's actually happening in the next chapter =)**_

_**I know what sex the baby is but I'm leaving the naming up to all the readers that have stuck with me for my longest story by far. So, in your review tell me your choice for a girl name (Scarlett, Courtney or Daniella) and for a boy (Noah or Landon)**_

_**Casey xXx**_


	31. Don't Dream It's Over

**Disclaimer: ** I haven't done one of these in ages because as BL fans we all know that I don't own OTH or its characters. If I did _a lot _of things would be different =)

Excluding the Lily's quiet nineteenth birthday and the extremely rare occasion when she managed to sneak downstairs, a very restless twenty one year old Brooke had been confined to the bedroom upstairs.  
She was downstairs now, having convinced her over cautious husband two weeks earlier that 'bed rest' could include the couch in the living room; she was on it now, with Savannah on her lap staring at the majestic tree that stood in front of the window, covered in ornaments and lights which Lily, Brooke and Luke had decorated several nights earlier.  
It was the night of December twenty two, only three days before Christmas and with the snow falling softly outside Savannah was visibly excited at the number of presents already under the tree, a large number of which were for her.

"_Brookie." As Brooke laid spread on the couch, reading the latest Nicholas Sparks novel, she swore she was hearing things. Nevertheless, she looked up anyway and just visible in her driveway was the exact car she'd learnt to drive in.  
"Katie." She cast aside Thibault and Beth to beat her sister to the door. She was eleven and a half now; a completely different girl to who Brooke had left behind when she'd been forced to New York and there was a notable difference even to when they'd last seen each other six months ago. Behind Katie, both carrying bulging bags of presents came her parents.  
"Brooke." Her mother was speechless, this was the first time in both pregnancies Victoria and Edward had seen Brooke. "You look like you're about to drop."  
"Any day now." Brooke replied as cheerfully as possible, as she ushered them out of the cold. "Luke's upstairs, I bet he would love to see you."  
Her father slung an arm around her shoulders as she closed the door and kissed her cheek. "It's good to see you princess._

"O Silent night, O Holy night…" The album of traditional Christmas carols that Brooke had found in their colossal CD collection was softly wafting through the speakers of the new entertainment system. As Savannah began to drift off to sleep on the couch Brooke was reading her her favourite Christmas story while stroking her arm. It was a perfect night in the Scott house; with the Davis' back home in North Carolina, it was notably quieter while Lily baked gingerbread in the kitchen and Luke hummed along to the CD while reading his worn copy of _Of Mice and Men.  
_She would regret the next morning when she woke up, but with Savannah dreaming next to her, the book finished and CD still going with the aroma of gingerbread filling every room downstairs Brooke slowly drifted off to sleep.

When Brooke next woke up it was only one in the morning; it took her a minute to orientate herself but when she did it hit her like a ton of bricks – her back was killing her. Managing to not wake Savannah she left her on the floor, comforted by pillows, as she went to find the rest of her peacefully sleeping family.  
"Wake up daddy." Brooke's lips were mere millimetres away from Luke's ear. "Wake up, oh dear husband of mind." She watched his blue eyes flutter open at the sound of her voice.  
"What's wrong Brooke?" He groaned. "Come to bed with me."  
"Na-uh, come on, we've gotta go. She watched his face changed as the meaning behind her words were realised and while he rushed to get dressed, she grabbed her hospital bag from next to her dresser and went to coax a grumpy Lily to take Savannah to the car.  
"What is it with you giving birth at midnight?" Lily grumbled yawning, as Luke helped Brooke downstairs.

Savannah was awake again, startled by her sterile surroundings when she first opened her eyes. Since she was awake and not likely to fall asleep again any time soon Brooke took the opportunity to re-show her a picture book about having a baby brother or sister.  
"See, you can help mummy with…the baby when you're older Savvie baby…they'll be able to play with you…" Her contractions were a lot closer together now and each time they came it crippled her.  
"Lily, take Savannah please." She begged as she clutched Luke's hand; she didn't want to hurt Savannah.  
This time around, it was only Luke, Lily and Savannah with Brooke in the hospital room; she had called Haley but after the midnight dash eight weeks ago they would come visit the new family of four at a more respectable hour.  
"No more children Luke; I mean it this time."  
They were almost at the end of the delivery and Brooke was sobbing between each push.  
"It's okay Pretty Girl." He leant over the railing to kiss her forehead. "No more children." He hated seeing her in this much pain. He allowed his hand to be crushed once again as he pushed her hair back off her sweaty forehead.  
"Just two more Brooke." Her doctor coaxed. "I can see its head."  
"You're doing a wonderful job sweetheart." Luke kissed the back of her hand as she pushed once more.  
"One more Brooke, this is it."

As Brooke fell back into the pillow, exhausted, she was greeted with the sound of…silence.  
This right now, was not something she wanted to hear.  
"What's wrong?" Brooke pushed herself back up panicked, alert, but before anyone could reply a high pitched wail filled the room. Brooke collapsed back into her pillow again, smiling; she'd never heard such a better sound before.  
"Congratulations, you have a beautiful baby boy."  
After he was closely checked over he was given a full bill of health, was washed, swathed in a white blanket and handed back over to his exhausted mother.  
"Noah Keith Scott." She smiled over her son. "Welcome to the world buddy."

_It was the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…_

Brooke and baby Noah had been released from hospital late Christmas eve, and while the rest of the house now slept as they mentally prepared themselves for what would surely be another event filled Scott Christmas, Brooke sat rocking in the nursery watching her precious baby boy, who'd been born with a tuft of raven coloured hair, identical to her own, sleep peacefully, knowing that soon he would wake crying ready for another feed.

"Is this something that really needs to be done?" Lily was leaning against the car while Luke loaded presents in the trunk and Brooke made sure that Savannah and Noah were secured in the back.  
"They're our parents Lils, but you know that Keith will be there. He'll protect you from whatever Dan tries to pull." Luke slammed the trunk shut and climbed into the driver's seat while Lily rode shotgun.  
"They can't hurt us." Luke promised as Brooke and Lily shot each other dubious looks.

"Oh my God, he's so small." Peyton was looking down on Noah in Brooke's arms, which was as close as she'd ever get to him. They had just walked through the doors and he had just woken up revealing the blue eyes that all babies are born with.  
"Let the poor girl sit down." Karen led Brooke to an armchair. "So," Karen casually questioned once Brooke was settled. "What did you decide to name him?" Brooke and Luke had decided to wait until Christmas Day to tell the family his name; to develop the suspense.  
"Noah Keith Scott." Luke looked at his Uncle and the delighted look that covered his face, deliberately avoiding his father whose own features were clouded with anger. He didn't like the fact that he was the grandfather of two Grandsons and not one of them had been named after him in anyway; especially when he was such a powerful man.  
"It's beautiful." Karen gushed from her seat next to Keith as he thanked them both over and over again.

'Oh yeah,' Brooke thought to herself, 'This is going to be a long Christmas.'


	32. From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea

Brooke was standing in the doorway of the master bedroom glaring at her husband of twenty seven months as he lay spread on top of their large bed, creasing the quilt that was underneath him.  
"Come lay down with me." He flashed his usually irresistible smile, rubbing his hand on the empty space next to him but tonight Brooke was not about to fall for that; not when she was trying so hard to be angry at him.  
"I can't believe you Lucas Eugene Scott." He winced at the use of his whole name that his mother and father had cursed him with and the unusually harsh tone in Brooke's voice. "Can't you last just _one night_ with your family?"  
Her voice was hushed; she had Noah and Savannah asleep and she didn't want to wake them.  
"Were you in the same house?" He questioned, his voice was slightly slurred, a result of the number of drinks he'd consumed during the time spent at his parents' house for Christmas.  
"I'm sorry." He apologised immediately, seeing the look of anger suddenly cloud her face; her hormones were still out of control and unpredictable and he wasn't about to test her limit.

"_I'm giving you what you want. I left him." The large, traditional Christmas dinner had been devoured over a traditional, tense conversation and now they'd moved onto coffee and explosive arguments in the living room.  
"Not like this." The vein in Dan's neck looked like it was about to burst Brooke observed as she rocked Noah, trying in vain to get him to settle down. "You can't leave him just because you're pregnant."  
"I'm trying to fix my life. You are impossible to please." Peyton glared at her father before grabbing her coat.  
"I'm going."  
They all watched her leave in silence; it wasn't until the front door slammed shut that someone spoke.  
"Wonderful Dan; mess up another Christmas dinner." Karen was furious at her husband._

"Lucas." Brooke's voice rose to a normal level out of frustration. Just as his name left her mouth one of the baby monitors that sat on her nightstand table crackled to life.  
"You woke Savannah. Great." As she stormed out the room, Lucas tried to work out how it was _his _fault when it had been _her _voice that had woken up their daughter.

Brooke was rocking back and forth in the rocking chair in Savannah's room as she watched her daughter sleep; having settled her back down quickly.  
"I'm so glad you won't remember tonight." Brooke whispered leaning down to kiss her daughter. "I hope you have a better Christmas next year baby." She whispered as she turned on the nightlight and left the room.  
She was almost at her bedroom door, she could hear Luke's quiet snoring, when the beginning sounds of her two day old son crying came from the room next to her.  
"Don't cry baby." Brooke had Noah in her arms in a second, moving to the chair so she could feed him. She wasn't going to be able to sleep anytime soon.

The snow was still falling when Brooke gave up on sleeping and headed downstairs to cook up a hangover cure breakfast for Luke who had slept all night despite how many times she had to wake up for Noah.  
"Do you know how much I love you?" Strong arms encircled Brooke's waist as she stood at the stove; she twisted her head to find him grimacing in pain from the early morning sun. Before she could answer though, Noah woke up.  
"Yes, and you want to get Noah for me." Brooke flipped the bacon. She knew he was dying to do it anyway.

"Why couldn't Christmas be like this?" Brooke sighed as she relaxed into the couch next to Luke. Savannah and Jamie were playing on the floor; Noah was in his bassinette while Nate, Haley and Lily were spread out on the armchairs; the Christmas tree sparkling with fairy lights.  
"It's almost like Christmas didn't happen." Nate stated taking a drink of his coffee.  
"Almost." Lily echoed; there were some things that weren't going to be forgotten anytime soon.

"_You ungrateful little brat." Lily was sitting out by the pool trying to escape the horror that was unfolding inside; her family couldn't even pretend to be normal. However, apparently the horror was following her outside. She looked up to find Dan glaring at her.  
"Eighteen years I treat you like a daughter, just for you to go call him 'dad'."  
He said the word as if it was a curse; the worst one someone could give another.  
"None of your children call you that." Lily found confidence in standing up against Dan. "You're just the person that threw money towards them." Then she walked inside, knowing that what she'd just said was going to cause hell._

"I never got to give you your present."  
Brooke had just finished feeding Noah for the night when Luke entered the pale yellow nursery. Brooke's hand reflectively flung up to the white gold heart pendant that hung from her neck which he'd given her yesterday morning.  
"Then what's this?" She challenged.  
"That's because you are an amazing mother. Here." He removed an envelope from behind his back. Gently placing a now sleeping Noah in his bassinette she tentatively took the envelope, Luke enjoyed spoiling her with expensive gifts. Peeking inside, the gift was something she had not been suspecting.  
"We've already been there." Brooke smiled at him.  
"And we need a second go at it. I book us a resort in June so Noah's old enough and we can celebrate Savannah's second birthday."  
"I love it." Brooke flung her arms around Luke's neck kissing him. A nice, quiet family getaway to the Spanish coast was exactly what they needed.

"Ten…nine…eight…"  
Savannah and Jamie slept in his room while Noah was downstairs where his parents could hear him if he woke up. They were standing in the back yard of Nate and Haley's house counting down to the spectacular firework display that was about to light up over the city beginning the New Year.  
"Seven…six…five…four."  
"To a new year; a better year." Brooke lifted her glass of Diet Coke. The others all followed suit.  
"Three…two…one…Happy New Year."  
The fireworks exploded but none of the adults actually saw it.  
"I love you Hales." Nathan kissed his wife of almost eight years like it was their wedding night. "I love you to Nathan." She giggled kissing him back.  
"To a great year." Brooke whispered as Luke bent down to kiss her.

**A/N: I did have this ready to upload on Sunday; I wanted it up before I started uni on the Monday. I wasn't counting on fanfiction suffering a technical glitch that definitely lasted longer than a "couple of minutes" or my new beagle puppy chewing through our phone lines bringing down the phone and internet connection. This is the first time I've been able to get to a computer.  
So don't forget to review and tell me what you think =)**

**Casey xXx**


	33. The Birth And Death Of The Day

"Hush little baby, don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird…" Brooke sat in the yellow nursery rocking six month old Noah Keith to sleep the night before they were to board a plane for their Spanish holiday. As Noah's emerald eyes, much like Brooke's, finally drifted closed revealing to his relieved mama his pale lavender eyelids, she smile; which quickly turned to a frown when she heard the argument that was occurring downstairs in her living room.  
"You and mum have been the only ones to give me any support. You can't just leave when I'm due any day." Peyton cried. Peyton Elizabeth Scott-Williams technically, since neither she nor her ex, Leon, had signed the official papers that Dan had gotten drawn up yet. Since her Christmas bombshell, she had spent almost all of her time in Brooke's house since her twin brother actually cared about her heath and well being; and because the rest of her family wouldn't let her stay in their homes.  
"You'll be fine Peyton." Even from her position upstairs she could hear the irritation in his voice; six constant months of a hormonal Peyton was two much for anyone.

Three large suitcases were in the back of the taxi, Noah was in his carrier which Luke was currently holding and Brooke had Savannah on her hip.  
"Go, have gun." Lily called from the doorway. "I'll take good care of the house." She gave her most innocent smile; even though she was normally a good girl she was only nineteen years old and for the first time ever had the house completely to herself for an extended period of time, she was probably planning the first party already.  
"Don't worry Lucas; everything will be fine." Brooke tried to comfort him as they drove off, his face betraying the thoughts racing through his head; which seemed to perfectly match Brooke's.

It had seemed like a great idea on Christmas when Lucas had presented her with the tickets for the Madrid holiday but now as the cabin lights in the plane dimmed for those passengers who wanted to sleep Brooke started to rethink her initial reaction.  
Shortly after take off many of their fellow passengers in the first class cabin had slipped in headphones or earplugs with one woman resorting to taking sleeping pills so they wouldn't have to listen to the children.  
Savannah, who was only a couple of days shy of entering the terrible two phase seemed to be getting a head start; she didn't want to sit down, she wanted to run around the cabin and make as much noise as possible. Noah, only six months old, didn't like flying and voice this opinion to his parents the only way he knew how. When Brooke finally got them both to quieten down and actually go to sleep, she silently curse Lucas who had seemed to have absolutely no problems falling asleep amidst the crying and tantrums; then she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep with the sounds of the quiet chatter and occasional laughter coming from the small group of flight attendants.

"Brooke, Brooke." The addressee grumbled as she was shaken awake early the next morning. She opened one eye and glared furiously at Lucas; he understood the intended message.  
"We're about to land." He explained.  
Both eyes flung open; _finally, _she could almost feel the solid ground and large plains of space again. She glanced at Savannah who was sitting quietly in her seat with her favourite doll, it was a rarity, and Brooke was worried.  
"What did you do to our daughter?" There was awe in her voice as she asked.  
"I told bunny here if she didn't behave she wouldn't have a birthday." Bunny was a nickname that Luke had invented a couple of months ago after her Aunt Lily compared her to the Energizer Bunny, who never stops going; it was the special nickname that was shared only between daddy and daughter.  
Brooke laughed incredulously. "You blackmailed your innocent, gullible daughter?" If she had known that it would have worked; hell, if she had thought of it first, she would have started using it a long time ago.  
"The important thing is that it worked." Luke replied as they began their long awaited descent onto Spanish soil.

Brooke squealed as she caught sight of the tranquil, pristine blue ocean stretching out past the horizon as their car pulled up to the beachside resort where they were spending their week long holiday.  
"Let's move here." Brooke could envision it now; escaping from her father-in-law; her husband's twin sister – it would be as if Christmas, Easter and her birthday all came at once.  
"Let's get through Savannah's birthday in three days first though before you start looking at real estate okay?" Lucas laughed wrapping one arm around her waist as they climbed out of the car; after almost three years of marriage, the beginning of it the epitome of unconventional; she could still make him laugh.

Brooke's bare feet sank into the wet sand on the beach as she stood just centimetres from where the water reached, contemplating whether or not to proceed any further into the chilly water. Noah was sitting on her hip, a large white hat shielding his pale skin from the European summer sun.  
"What about it baby?" She jiggled her son moving his attention away from the birds in the sky he'd been watching. "Want to play in the water with mama?" Lucas and Savannah were already ahead of them, Savannah loved so much water to play in; it was a bigger version of her Grandparent's pool.  
Taking the brunette baby's energetic gurgles as affirmation, Brooke began wading out to join the second half of the family.

That night, the genetically blessed Scott children went to sleep early with no fussing, their day out in the sun evidently wearing them out. Their parents were relaxing in the main room of their suite, half watching a movie while Brooke lay her head on Lucas's shoulder resting her eyes.  
"Right now, it's like the last six months is a dream." Brooke noted quietly. Away from all the day-to-day drama of being a Scott, it was a tempting thought to just never return home. The movie ended and a Spanish soap, with no subtitles, started. Brooke tried to follow on but since she had ditched Spanish the day they covered naked verbs she didn't last even two minutes and started to drift off asleep on Luke's shoulder.

"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Savannah, Happy birthday to you." Lucas and Brooke were both bent over Savannah's sleeping body gently coaxing her awake. Brooke brushed her fingers against Savannah's golden fringe.  
"Time to wake up." She said in a sing song voice.  
Brooke and Lucas had kept Savannah's main birthday present a complete secret from her to elevate their own personal enjoyment that was sure to come when she learnt for herself. Generally, the long train ride out of the country that preceded the present would be considered a nightmare with their children, but because a cruel Lucas had, lovingly, reminded his only daughter of his empty threat she behaved the entire way there; quietly playing with the new dolly that her Grandma Karen had given her parents to give to her that morning.  
"_Disney."_ Savannah squealed when they arrived at their final destination later that morning; Disneyland, Paris.

Brooke and Lucas spent an entire day going on all the (age appropriate) rides that Savannah had pointed to and insisted on and spent a small fortune in the numerous themed souvenir shops that scattered the giant amusement park. By the end of the day Brooke had appeased Lucas's enjoyment with roller coasters by having a large cup of coffee while he waited in line and rode the Space Mountain and by the time they arrived back to the resort in Spain darkness had fallen across the sky and Noah was fast asleep in his stroller and Savannah on Luke's hip.

"Señor, Señora Scott." The concierge jolted from his position behind the front desk when he saw the family enter. "A phone call came for you, a Señora Lily Scott. She said it urgent, for you to call her back immediately."  
Brooke took the phone from the concierge's hand and thanked him. She dialled her home number, hoping that it was more important than wishing Savannah a happy birthday because Brooke had been looking forward to her freshly turned down bed and she really did not want to wake Savannah.  
"What is it Lily?" Brooke asked once her youngest sister-in-law picked up the phone.  
"Brooke its Dan…he's dead."

**A/N: I initially wrote this chapter out by hand, most of it at the middle of the night since the overdose of caffeine I took this morning (two cups of coffee and a can of Redbull by midday) has evidently prevented me from falling asleep.  
Back in 2007 (sounds so long ago) I visited my first Disneyland, in Tokyo. Fourteen straight hours at least; met my fears of rollercoaster's head on when the group I was with dragged me on the Space Mountain the second we got there.**

**Anyway, I digress, don't forget to review this chapter because this story is almost finished and I love hearing everybody's thoughts.**

**Casey xXx**


	34. Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking

"_What is it Lily?" Brooke asked once her youngest sister in lawn picked up the phone; she was too tired to deal with niceties; if this _was _about wishing her niece a happy birthday…  
"Brooke…" Lily's voice sounded extremely small of a sudden; Brooke wasn't sure if it was the intercontinental phone call or something else. "Its Dan, he's dead."  
_Those four small words didn't register with the twenty two year old daughter in law of the feared patriarch at first.  
"He's dead?" She repeated. "Are you sure?"  
"Brooke…I saw the body. That man isn't coming back." Brooke stared up at Lucas as Lily talked; she had never seen her husband so still; ever. His cerulean eyes were glazed as if he couldn't see anything at all and she prayed that he didn't collapse while he was holding a sleeping Savannah.  
"Brooke, Brooke." Lily tried to regain her attention, once she realised that Brooke wasn't listening to her. "You guys need to come home now. Mum's freaking about, Peyton gave birth last night, Nathan…Nathan's not helping the situation at all…you and Lucas need to come home and _do something_."  
"Don't worry Lils." Brooke had to take some control of this situation apparently because just by looking at Luke she could see that he was going to be as useless as his brother. "We're coming home on the next available flight out of here."  
She hung up the phone and thanked the concierge and after prying Savannah from her father she realised that Lily had mentioned somewhere in her rushed speaking that Peyton had given birth.

After Savannah and Noah were down in their room for the night, Brooke sat on the edge of her bed with the navy blue cover on her silver cell phone arguing with the airline to change their tickets to be able to come home first thing in the morning.  
"God damn call waiting music." She muttered; she swore that the nasty woman on the other side was doing this just to spite her and was probably flicking through some magazine. While she was waiting her emerald eyes half hidden under her eyelids which felt weighed down with fatigue, drifted up to Lucas as he emerged from the bathroom, fresh from a warm shower which had meant to break him out of the stupor he'd gone in.  
"Are you okay?" She whispered adjusting the phone as he sat down on the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist.  
"He's dead." Since Brooke had first said those words it was the only thing that Lucas had been able to say.  
"I'm sorry." Brooke whispered again, resting her head on his shoulder fighting the urge to fall asleep against him. She hated the man, and she knew on most days so did Lucas, but it was still his father.  
"Señora Scott; are you still there?" The brisk voice of the flight attendant crackled through the phone. "We have seats on the five am flight. Will that do?"  
Brooke bet that the woman was expecting to tell her no; that it was too early. "Thank you, that's fine."  
She hung up her phone and then looked up at Luke again; he looked so distraught.  
"Everything will be okay." She knew that while they sat in a foreign country so far away from their family it didn't seem like that, but Brooke needed to say something. In response, Lucas just laughed.  
"Thank you for trying babe," He kissed her hair which was still tied back in a quick ponytail so that it wouldn't become a knot while they were out. "But it won't be. It's my father; he's probably worked it so some major drama happens when we arrive home."

Brooke and Lucas didn't sleep that night, watching over their children and worrying about if they had everything packed and if they would make it to the plane on time. So once they were settled in the comfortable first class seats awaiting take off, Brooke almost instantly crashed. She had been dreading the fuss that Savannah would create if her parents fell asleep while they were meant to be watching her but it was as if the blonde knew that something bad was happening; she sat quietly in her seat playing with her dolly while Noah lay in his carrier, not once making a noise.

Lily was meant to be meeting them at the airport with Luke's car so they could all go over to Karen's house; but as the young family emerged from behind the customs doors into the main airport they realised that there was a small problem…the paparazzi and reporters were waiting in swarms and the second one of them realised the Scott's had appeared; they were all over them.  
"Lucas, Lucas over here, over here!!"  
"Brooke…how do you respond to the recent rumours that Lu…"  
The voice of reporters yelling to be heard over one another and the blinding lights from the cameras not only disorientated Brooke but it upset a confused and tired Savannah who was clinging to her father's hand while he pushed the trolley of suitcases through the building and it woke up Noah who had previously been sleeping on Brooke's shoulder, hidden from public view by the blue blanket his mother had thrown over him. As Brooke heard the beginning chords of a full on screaming fit from her son, the loud, commanding voice from her husband cut through the chaotic din.  
"Please, just give my family some privacy. This is a very difficult time for all of us."  
And as the reporters momentarily fell back Lucas took this opportunity to push through the crowd to the waiting freedom outside.

"Lily." Lucas was expecting his mother's car or at the very least Nathan's car but when they finally found his brunette, teenaged sister it was behind the wheel of his prized sports car. "What are you doing with my car?" It came out a choked, whisper as if he was trying to desperately control his anger.  
"Don't panic Luke; your car was the easiest to get out the driveway." Lucas was standing by the driver's door, all ready to force his sister out from the seat while Brooke was left to load the suitcases into the back and buckle the two babies in to the back.  
Lily didn't put up much of a fight and as she climbed into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt in Lucas sped away from the crowd of photographers that were again sneaking up on them.  
"Mum's been hysterical for the past day." She turned to face Lucas. "With Dan and Peyton, she's going to lose her mind and Nathan isn't speaking to mum, so Haley can't help and I'm only nineteen…" She hadn't stopped to take a breath and her words were becoming very rushed.

"Calm down Lils." Brooke placed one hand on Lily's shoulder which almost instantly calmed her down. "Lucas and I can handle it. How is Peyton doing?" She thought she might as well ask the question since no one else had mentioned it.  
She could almost hear her sister-in-law's cerulean eyes, similar to the rest of her family's, roll.  
"Oh, she's doing great. Hours after Dan died she _announced _that she had reconciled with Leon. She had no plans to ever actually divorce him, oh and she gave birth to a baby boy Jonathon Leon…" She was becoming breathless again and Brooke had to stop her again.  
"Are you okay Lils?" Brooke strained to catch a look at the girl's face. "You look really stressed." There was something besides the sudden family dramas that was stressing her out.  
"Oh, Rhys came to see me last night…"

It was lucky that they were pulling into the driveway at the Scott Mansion at this point because the second Rhys Manning's name was mentioned Lucas slammed on the breaks.

Karen was pacing the living room, her cell phone attached to her phone as she dealt with business _and _personal arrangements at the same time, taking the sudden heap of responsibility onto herself since all of her children were refusing responsibility of the business. Keith was sitting on the arm rest of one of the lounge chairs, watching his lover pace the length of the room helplessly, he wanted to help; he did but nothing he seemed to be saying or doing was helping.

"Mum?" Lucas crept into the living room cautiously while Brooke stood by the door. "Mum, Brooke and I are home now. What do you want me to do?"  
"Oh, hi honey. It's okay; I've got everything under control." Her hair hadn't been brushed since she woke up the day of her husband's sudden death and the bags underneath her eyes were evidence enough that she hadn't slept since then either.  
"You're not okay. Let me do something." He had grabbed one hand and was forcing the cell phone out of her grasp. He succeeded and Karen fell back, clearly exhausted.  
"Karen, I'll make you some tea." Brooke offered handing Noah over to Lily and leading her mother-in-law into the state of the art kitchen.  
"What happened?" She cajoled the information out of the older brunette woman as the kettle boiled.  
"He…he had a heart attack." Karen whispered silently after thinking about it a moment, clearly she hadn't allowed herself the chance to think about it.  
"I gave…I gave him the divorce papers." Tears were threatening to overspill, and even though she hadn't loved her husband for almost twenty years, they had been partners for almost thirty… "I told him that I was leaving him for Keith. He told me he would cut me and Lily off from his will."  
Brooke placed her smooth, recently tanned hand over the other woman's rougher, paler hand in comfort.

It didn't take Karen Roe Scott long to recompose herself after her mini breakdown in front of Brooke and by the time she finished her tea and re-entered the living room her steely façade was reinstated.  
The shrill, business like ring tone of Karen's cell phone once again went off in Luke's hands and before his mother could snatch it off him, the blond pressed answer.  
Brooke watched as her husband listened to the person on the other line, and as Luke's face paled and paled and continued to pale she knew something was seriously wrong.  
"What happened?" Brooke whispered once he was off, worst case scenario after worst case scenario racing through her often over-imaginative mind.  
"Dan, Dan left it all with a journalist…" He managed to choke out; this was enough to ruin the entire family name.

**Okay, so I was having a complete writer's block with this chapter and nothing I wrote seemed right but after writing **_**Backseat of a Greyhound Bus **_**I managed to type it up within half an hour.  
It is shorter than I first intended but that can be seen as a good thing because it means that there are now at least two chapters to this story left…  
Also, DANIOTH posted a video online promoting this fic, the youtube link is on my profile page.**

**=)**

**Don't forget to review, 'cause we all know I love those; and I will update again…soon-ish.**

**-- Casey xXx**


	35. The Trick Is To Keep Breathing

**A/N: I've been away from my writing for so long – I'm really, really sorry; after I started uni, along with my dancing and work I just had no enthusiasm or energy left to write =(  
But, I'm back and I know promising something is dangerous but I hope to have updates for my other stories soon too. =)**

SCOTT MARRIAGE SHAM  
_It was almost four years ago when infamous playboy and _Scott Enterprises _heir Lucas E. Scott, then 21, was pictured in Manhattan with the daughter of one of his father's lawyers, Brooke Davis, 19, an unknown girl from the south; his complete opposite. Their engagement and marriage came as a shock to everyone and despite a number of cheating allegations surrounding Luke, their marriage survived, and the low key couple now have two children.  
But can their relationship survive this?  
After the sudden death of the family patriarch Dan Scott, documents from the man dating back three decades are being released, one of the most damning being that the Davis-Scott marriage was a sham; a business deal.  
For a detailed account on the Scott Family's past read page twenty three._

The sun was only just beginning to rise as Brooke's tired, bleary eyes read over the front page article for what felt like the millionth time. The soft touch of Noah's skin was a comfort for her and was currently the only thing calming her down as he slept peacefully in her arms; he hadn't been put down all night.  
Outside, it was blissfully quiet. After the phone call yesterday, Luke had bundled everybody into the car and fled out of the state driving straight to their North Carolina home; the paparazzi were probably still camped out in New York waiting for them.

"You need to get some sleep pretty girl." Luke stumbled into the kitchen where she was sitting. "You're torturing yourself with it."  
"Oh, like you haven't been doing it as well." She grumbled, on the verge of snapping. She did need sleep. "What are we going to do about this? We can't hide here forever."  
Lucas sat down next to her and took one of her petite hands into his larger one.  
"We're not going to do anything." He said calmly. When Brooke went to protest he continued. "_I'm _going back to the city to face this. I want you to stay here with Savannah and Noah."  
"You can't leave." Brooke hissed. "I can't stay here by myself." She hated it when Lucas told her what to do; and she hated it when she had to spend a night away from him.  
"I love you pretty girl." He kissed her cherry red lips softly before walking out the front door.

Lily Isabella Scott was sitting in the living room of Luke and Brooke's NY house with the curtain drawn, casting a shadow across the room, as she read the paper in shock. It was page one she was worried about; she knew her brother would fix that. It was page twenty three where it stated clearly in black and white that she was Keith's daughter. Her mother had been put through enough the last couple of days; she shouldn't have to face this being out in the public as well.  
She almost went into shock, when, a couple of seconds later, there was a loud knocking coming from the kitchen door at the back of the house. She went back to investigate and found just Rhys; Rhys who hadn't left her alone since she broke up with a year and a half ago, Rhys who had apparently done drugs and a lot of alcohol before she dumped him. She fell into his arms the second she got the door open, crying into his shoulder saturating his white button down t-shirt.  
"Sshh, it's okay Lil, I'm here." He kissed the top of her head.  
"This is just all so fucked up." She cried.

Haley James Scott could feel a headache coming already, despite the face that the sun wasn't even really up yet. She had succeeded in keeping her family as distanced from Dan Scott as much as possibly, except for the inevitable screaming matches. Publishing every dirty secret about his family though? It showed the man had absolutely no heart. She had even almost forgotten about her husband kissing the nanny when Jamie was just a baby.  
Bringing up old hurts from beyond the grave; it was exactly like Dan Scott.

Peyton Scott Williams was trying desperately to stop her new born, barely a week old, son Johnathon Leon from crying while her husband read out the newspaper. It read half of the male who's who of New York City _and _Hollywood and the inside of a drug dealer's lab.  
"This is going to fuck us up." Peyton said bluntly as she brought Johnathon to her breast so he could feed. She had spent the last nine months trying to clean her image in the press up; her father just couldn't let her be happy.

Savannah Grace was running around the living room with her favourite dolly while Noah played with a toy in his playpen and Brooke watched the news. She had just gotten off the phone with Lucas, who had told her that he would be on at the end of the broadcast to address the 'problem'.  
"Savvie, Savvie baby come here." Brooke reached out and grabbed her daughter pointing to the screen. "Look, its daddy." He was with entertainment reporter, Carrie Bicmore.  
"Lucas, the allegations read like a colourful soap opera's script. How do you respond to the allegations that your and your wife was married through an arrangement of your parents'?"  
Brooke took a deep breath, this was the moment that any trace of public doubt that Dan created, disappeared.

"What my father says is true; everything is the truth. When Brooke and I married we couldn't stand each other."  
Carrie laughed; Brooke didn't like the sound of that.  
"But your daughter Savannah Grace was born nine months later. So you mustn't have hated each other that much."  
"It was a lust filled relationship." Luke smiled boyishly, Brooke groaned.  
"When did you first realised you loved her then?"  
Brooke straightened up to hear this answer, she was curious about this answer too. There was silence for a minute as Luke thought, and then he responded carefully.  
"We had just come back from our belated honeymoon in Spain, and we had a large argument. I was on the front page of a magazine with my ex Chelsea in a nightclub. She stormed out of the house and it was when I found her at my brother's house that she told me that she was pregnant." Luke smiled softly. "It was then I realised how much I loved this girl and how I couldn't live with out her."  
There was more silence before the reported came back.  
"We'll be back in a minute with tomorrow's weather, this is Carrie Bicmore."  
Brooke turned the telly too before kissing Savannah's hair. "Everything will be okay baby." She sighed.

Once they were off air Luke relaxed. He knew that this was far from over. The entire family would be facing this problem for months and months and he and Brooke would have to work hard to dispel any doubts about their relationship now, but he knew that they'd get there.  
He got his earpiece off and then slid out of the studio; he had a long drive back to his family.

**A/N: Another story coming to the end. I have a couple of ideas for an epilogue. Do you want to see one? Immediately following or set in the future? Just Brucas or the whole family?  
Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted and added it to your favourites. A special thanks to Katie (cutiekk), Kelsey (ReadTheLyric09) and Carabell (broodyprettygirl) who have all given me a lot of valuable help in beta-ing chapters for me and turning an average chapter into a great one.**

**-- Casey xXx**


	36. Can't Stop This Thing We've Started

**AN: Okay, so this is it! There's more family and less Brucas than I intended but I think the chapter has turned out okay =)  
Now, I'll be working on **_**I'm Your Daughter **_**and another story, I just haven't decided what the second story is yet. If you have any ideas you can email me or vote in the poll on my profile page =)**

The sun had just began to rise, casting a golden glow over the Scott Mansion; and even though the day had just began the home was full of noise and activity, something which until three years ago was unthinkable within these walls.  
"Savannah! Savannah Grace, come here right now." Brooke had been in the kitchen when out of the corner of one of her sparkling emerald eyes she spotted her daughter heading into the lounge room.  
"Yes, mama?" Her blonde curls were a mess, and her cerulean eyes that made her look so much like her father were bleary, evidence that she had only just woken up from her slumber.  
"What on Earth are you doing awake so early?" Brooke wasn't mad as she sat down at the kitchen table and pulled Savannah into a cuddle.  
"It's my Birthday mama. I was es…esc…excited." She struggled over the last word and Brooke smiled at her daughter's determination to get the word right.  
"I completely forgot it was your birthday." Brooke joked kissing her daughter's cheek. "What are we going to do _now_?"  
Savannah laughed; her mama was so stupid sometimes. "You didn't forget mama. I'm having a party."  
Savannah's party was the reason why they had spent the night at Karen Roe Scott's house instead of their own.  
"Well, baby girl, the party isn't for hours yet. How about you go back to sleep for a while okay; I'll make sure you're up and ready for the party."  
Savannah thought it over for a while before nodding. "Okay mama." She climbed off Brooke's lap and then run back off towards her bedroom.  
Brooke remained in the chair after Savannah disappeared, instead of returning to cooking all of the party food, and thought how three years could make such a large difference to an entire family, especially when it was a family like the Scott's.

She had returned to the counter to finish the cupcakes she had started on, when her mother-in-law Karen silently entered the kitchen and made a beeline for the espresso machine.  
"You're up early Karen." Brooke smiled putting the tray of cupcakes into the oven to cook. "I couldn't when I knew you were cooking in here without me." In the years since her first husbands' death Karen Roe Scott had learnt to relax from the woman she used to be and had started cooking, something she had loved to do before she began to work with Dan. "Plus the food just smells so good."  
"I second that." A new voice entered the conversation, and Lucas came to stand up right behind Brooke before wrapping her up in a tight hug good morning. Brooke leant back into Luke's chest willing and sighed softly. "I can't believe our baby girl is five today."

Once the aroma of the cupcakes filled the house, the silent era that Brooke had woken up to had vanished. Trying to keep three small children satisfied while you set up for a party was not easy and as a result a lot of noise was being made.  
"Lucas." Brooke walked out into the backyard where Lucas was up on a ladder which was being steadied by Keith Scott attaching the large banner to the ivy covered wall.  
"What is it Brooke?" He called back, trying to determine if the banner was straight or not.  
"I need you to go pick up Lily from the doctor's, and can you take Savannah with you please. She's too restless sitting around the house."  
Luke glanced down at his wife of almost six years. "Where'd Rhys go?"  
"They had an argument over something; he took off with the car."  
Luke didn't say what he was thinking, but instead started climbing down the ladder, agreeing to take Savannah with him. Rhys might have cleaned up his act and he and Lily might have been together for a solid three years but they still had an incredibly volatile relationship and raging pregnant hormones in twenty one year old Lily just fuelled the emotions. Luke gave Brooke a quick kiss before taking Savannah who was excited to be seeing her Aunty Lily and once Luke's car had pulled out of the driveway, Brooke was attacked by two more little creatures.  
"Where'd daddy go?" Three and a half year old Noah's upper lip quivered; when one of his parents disappeared without kissing him goodbye Noah Keith always got upset.  
"He went to get Aunt Lily." Brooke smiled, tickling him to prevent the tears from flowing. "So you and Johnny get to help me cook."  
Noah's eyes which were the exact shade as Brooke's sparkled and he ran off to the kitchen. Brooke turned to focus on the other little boy that had run up with Noah, Johnny.  
"Are you okay baby boy?" She pulled him up onto her hip for a cuddle.  
"My birthday?" He asked, settling his head on Brooke's shoulder.  
"You're birthday is next week and we're going to go visit your mama and you're going to have your _own _party with all your friends. Does that sound exciting?" Johnny nodded, his own blonde curls, just like Peyton's and Savannah's, bounced slightly. He hung on close to Brooke as she walked into the kitchen where her own son was patiently helping his Grandma cook.  
Johnathon Leon Williams, for not even being three yet, had led a life that no one his age should ever have to experience. He had never actually gotten to know his father because when Johnny was six months old and the Scott family was still recovering from the public fall from grace, Leon Williams, Peyton's husband, had OD'd while on a tour through Asia and then only a month later Brooke had taken Johnny while Luke ordered his twin sister into rehab. She'd been in and out ever since, meaning that Johnny had lived almost his entire life with his Aunt and Uncle.

The backyard was full of noise and life, as slowly, the place filled with screaming kids on a sugar high. The calm glittering blue pool had been fenced off in the last couple of years, preventing any of the kids from going too close and the basketball court that Lucas and Nathan had grown up on was covered in large picnic tables' covered in all the delicious party foods that Brooke and Karen had spent all morning cooking.  
"Aunt Haley." Savannah screamed, just like she'd been screaming everybody else's names all day, as Haley and Nathan walked through to the backyard. Seven year old Jamie following closely behind them; the second the blonde boy was out in the backyard his cousin threw herself onto him for a hug. Haley looked exhausted, the thirteen month old brunette baby girl on her hip, Rebecca Haley "Becca", looking excited and energetic, wanting to play with all the other kids.  
"Sorry we're late." Haley collapsed into the chair next to Brooke. "Becca here kept trying to kick up a fuss every time I tried clean her up." There was something Brooke's niece loved, it was getting dirty and playing outside.  
"She's not going to stay clean very long Hales." Brooke laughed; the second Haley put Becca down she was going to run off to the dirt.

"Do they never stop?" The next voice to join the conversation was Lily, who collapsed in the chair on the other side of Brooke, her hands already resting on her six month pregnant stomach.  
"No, they never stop Lils. After Jamie and Savannah and Noah and Johnny and Becca you should know that." Brooke couldn't help but laugh again.  
"They're different though." Lily protested, but she couldn't come up with an argument to support why.  
"So, where's Rhys." Haley was bored at home with only Becca for company each day and when she caught up with her sister-in-law's she wanted all the gossip. When Lily's face soured she knew she had hit a sore spot.  
"They had another argument." Brooke explained before Lily could go into the rant she had provided for Brooke when she'd first arrived at the house.  
"He thinks I'm fat." Lily growled. Brooke and Haley had never actually heard Lily growl before she became pregnant but now it was becoming a regular occurrence.  
"He doesn't think your fat." Haley tried to soothe. "You're pregnant, I'm sure you're the most beautiful person in the world to him."  
Lily almost shot daggers out of her eyes and Haley shrunk away. "You didn't see him staring at all the skinny models in the magazines. He wishes I was like that again."  
There was no point trying to reason with her; they just had to wait it out before Rhys decided to show at the party; which they all knew he would do, eventually, when he'd given enough time for Lily to calm down.

"…_Happy birthday to you." _Everyone sung the closing chords to the cheery, popular song and in one big blow Savannah blew out all the candles on her Cinderella cake.  
"Did you make a wish?" Brooke asked, as she took another couple of photos on her camera. Savannah nodded; a sly look in her eyes.

Then finally the party was finished. All the adults had arrived to take their kids, exhausted after running out of their sugar high, home to bed; Nathan and Haley had disappeared back home with Jamie and Becca who was covered almost head to toe in dirt and Lily was in her old bedroom sobbing into Rhys's shoulder.

"I'd say the party was a success." Brooke and Lucas were standing in the lounge room wrapped up in each other's arms while Noah and Johnny slept soundly on the couch and Savannah quietly watched one of the DVDs she got for her birthday, her eyes also starting to droop.  
"My mum said she and Keith would clean up outside. They said we should get home to put the kids into bed."  
Brooke really loved Karen in that second, she felt like joining her kids on the couch, she was so tired.

Brooke was sitting on her purple satin sheets on the master bed waiting for Luke to finish in Savannah's room; she had gotten a second wind and was no longer tired. She had kissed Savannah good night and tried to get her to reveal her birthday wish after reading her a story, and she failed, so why she tucked in Noah and Johnny, Lucas had tried again.  
"Any luck?" Lucas closed the door behind him as he entered the room. They tried to grant their children's (Johnny included) birthday wishes every year, if they were plausible, but it was only possible if they could get the wish from them and Savannah was the hardest one to get the wishes from every year.  
Lucas pushed Brooke back into the pillow so her long raven hair fanned out around her; he kissed the corner of her cherry lips and Brooke wrapped both arms around his neck pulling him closer.  
"What did Savannah wish for for her birthday?" She asked again as Lucas kissed her squarely on the mouth. He responded as she kissed his neck before starting to unbutton his shirt to get to the perfectly chiselled chest.  
"Because Noah and Johnny have each other, she wanted a baby sister."  
Brooke thought about it for a split second. "We might just be able to give her that." She giggled; she would sure have fun trying at least.

**Don't forget to review this story one last final time, especially if you've gone all thirty six chapters (my biggest story by far) without reviewing once…I know there's a lot of you out there =)**

**~ Casey xXx**


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